Seven-Day Cured Pork Belly
Pan-Seared Honey Mustard Glazed Pork Belly over Tri-Color Quinoa with Kefir Avocado Sauce, Cilantro Oil dressed Mixed Micro-greens, with Charred Cherries and Tomatillos
I was really excited when I was invited to perform a demo on the Main Stage at the world famous Taste of Chicago! Yes! I wanted it to be amazing because I knew the audience would be really big. I started by thinking about the flavors that I like. I also wanted to make sure that I created something that was bright and colorful ... something that would really stand out.
One thing that people know about me is that I love to use the smoker. My smoker was a gift from my grandfather. He was an amazing guy. He was a teacher and professor for several decades and he taught me a lot about cooking...especially gumbo, but I will save that for another day.
For this dish I cured the pork belly for seven days and then slow-smoked it for two hours. My cure is a secret and my signature, but you can still get great flavor with my with the honey mustard glaze. Of note, this dish will work with other proteins like Chicken breast or Tofu. Feel free to Evanate. I also wanted to make sure that I used kefir in my dish since we were on Lifeway's stage. I had never even eaten Kefir. I think my mom had and she is always talking about pro-biotics (she teaches me a lot about healthy cooking and eating). So I knew that Kefir was good for your "gut health", but I wondered if it tasted good. I read about and experimented with the Kefir products a lot. At its base, it is tangy like yogurt. It comes in several forms. Some are thin like smoothies and others more textured like ricotta. I opted for the plain smoothie version and came up with a tangy kefir-lime avocado sauce ... it added color and balance to the dish. I was happy I tried something new. Now, I use it often and it provides a healthier option to plain milk or cream.
The demo was amazing. I had lots of audience participation. People asked questions that varied from how I got started to the anatomy of the Pig, and texture/flavor of Pork belly. Afterward, I took a lot of pictures with the guests and handed out recipe cards. I gave the demo sample to the backstage staff who demolished it in no time flat and asked for more...All in all, I'd say this was a pretty successful dish and demo.
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Pork Belly (or protein of choice) 1lb. Pork Belly Slice protein into 1/4” thick slices. Coat with Honey Mustard Glaze. Sear in pan until done. Honey Mustard Glaze 1/4 cup Ground Mustard 3 Tbsp Water 1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar 2 tsp Honey 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil Mix mustard and water. Let it sit. In a separate bowl, mix the other ingredients. After 30 minutes, blend mixtures together. Kefir Avocado Sauce 1 Avocado 1/2 cup Lifeway® Kefir Juice of 1 Lime Mix together until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste...If it is too tangy, add a pinch of sugar to balance. Cilantro Oil 1 bunch Cilantro leaves 1/4 cup Olive Oil Juice of 1 Lime salt/pepper to taste Blend ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. To round out this dish, I made some quinoa as a base. I deglazed the pan with red wine and cooked the brussels sprouts in the liquid. Because it was spring, I used seasonal ingredients like English Peas and cherries and topped the whole thing off with charred tomatillos and micro-greens. Pro-tips:
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