Pork Belly

This is extremely rich and probably better suited for a Fall or Winter meal, but I had this pork belly, and I had to use it. Actually I only used a third of it and froze the rest for later.

2 1/2 pound piece of pork belly, rind removed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

2 carrots, chopped

1 small onion, sliced

2 stalks of celery, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

6 bay leafs

fresh thyme sprigs

1/4 cup sherry

I seasoned the pork with salt , pepper, fennel seed, bay leaf, and thyme. I smothered the belly with garlic, celery, onion, and carrots, doused everything with sherry and tightly double wrapped everything in foil. Roast the package at 200 degrees for 5 hours. Turn off the oven and let the belly cool in the oven for 2 hours.

Cut the belly into serving portions and crisp the fat side in a hot non-stick skillet until it is browned and crusty. I was going to discard the vegetables, but they were still in such good condition that I just served them under the belly. Some recipes call for making a sauce with the vegetbles and drippings, but there was just too much rendered fat for me to deal with.

This is almost flavor overload, so tender and succulent.