Bacon squared

By BobD

Ingredients

• Pork belly, fresh 1 Lb
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed
• Tandoori spice blend as needed
• Thyme sprigs 4 each
• Red verjus, 750-ml bottle of 1 each
• Chicken or pork stock 2 qts
• Apricots, dried 20 each
• Sugar 13 tsp
• Apple cider vinegar 3/4 C
• Pecans 1/2 C
• Corn oil 2 tsp
• Cumin 1 tsp
• Coriander 1 tsp
• Cayenne pinch
• Japanese eggplants 2 each
• Vegetable oil 3 TBS
• Rice wine vinegar 2 tsp
• Bacon, thin 18 each
• Micro greens as needed

Details

Adapted from plateonline.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. To braise belly, score fat side very lightly, season with salt, pepper and tandoori spices, and roast in 350-degree F oven for 30 minutes.

2. While roasting, prepare braising liquid by combining a sache of thyme, half a bottle of verjus and chicken stock in a pot. Bring to simmer, and pour over pork belly, to cover it almost completely. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F and braise pork belly 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

3. When belly is soft and cooked through, remove from pan and place between 2 baking sheets with weight on top to press to consistent shape. Cool for 4 hours. Once cooled, turn out belly onto cutting board, and trim excess fat and edges.

4. Cut belly into 5- by 1- inch pieces.

5. Cover apricots with remaining verjus in a saucepot and add 2 teaspoons sugar. Let simmer 7 minutes, until apricots are slightly softened. Strain verjus into small pot.

6. Combine remaining verjus with apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 cup sugar. Reduce by 2/3 until thickened to warm honey viscosity.

7. Blanch pecans in boiling water for 1 minute, shake off excess water and toss in a bowl with 3 teaspoons sugar, corn oil, cumin, coriander and a pinch of cayenne.

8. Place on insulated baking sheet, and cook in 350-degree F oven, stirring every 5 minutes for 15 to 20 minutes, or until slightly colored.

9. Peel, and rough chop eggplants. Sauté with 1/2 cup vegetable oil, salt and pepper for 10 minutes. When eggplant is soft and mushy, place in smoker over medium low smoke for about 10 minutes. Take eggplant to blender and purée with rice vinegar, and 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. Pass through fine strainer, re-check seasoning. Reserve, warm.

10. Shingle 3 bacon slices, overlapping about 1 centimeter, on a double layer of plastic film. Cut off 1/3 of length (a normal strip of bacon will wrap around too many times). Cover with another double layer of plastic, and with meat pounder, gently pound bacon thinner (this step is more to break fibers in bacon, not to make it paper thin).

11. Remove top layer of plastic, and line up belly. Stick length of belly should about line up with width of pounded bacon.

12. Split open apricots. Place inside part of apricot along two sides of belly (about three apricot halves per side). Press tightly to belly and place at bottom edge of pounded bacon. Start to roll belly and apricot into bacon, pulling gently to get tight roll.

13. When almost completely rolled, with final inch of bacon not yet rolled, pound extremely thin, so when cooked, it fuses to itself, and doesn't unravel. Repeat process 3 more times.

14. Take roulade, and roll up into plastic wrap, tightening even more, and let sit for 1 hour to firm up.

15. In a hot sauté pan, with 3 teaspoons oil, place "bacon squared" seam-side down, and crisp bacon. Slowly turn 3 times to crisp up. When on last side to render, place in oven to warm throughout, while crisping last side, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, set aside.

16. To plate, spoon on eggplant purée. Cut bacon with either very sharp or serrated knife into 5 or 6 medallions. Shingle onto plate, and top with chopped pecans, and verjus gastrique. Garnish with freshly chopped herbs or micro greens.