Pork Belly & Scallop Started with Coffee Glaze
Chuck Hughes’ slow braised pork belly is paired perfectly with a delicate scallop drizzled with a thick coffee glaze.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hrs 35 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Easy, Moderate, Complex
Ingredients
- For the pork belly:
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (60 ml)
- 2 pounds fresh pork belly
- 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
- 1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 fennel bulb, quartered
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns (5 ml)
- 4 cups veal stock (1 l)
- 1 cup hard cider (250 ml) or apple juice
- For the scallops:
- 4 large scallops
- Salt and pepper
- For the coffee glaze:
- Braising liquid (about 2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon black coffee (5 ml)
- 1 tablespoon honey (15 ml)
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 ˚F (180 ˚C).
- For the pork belly: Season the pork belly with salt and pepper. On medium high heat, in half the oil, sear the meat in an ovenproof casserole dish on all sides (about 5 minutes). Add the vegetables, thyme and peppercorns and continue cooking for another 5 minutes until caramelized.
- Add the veal stock and hard cider. Cover the casserole dish with a lid, or securely with tin foil, and braise the pork belly in the oven for 3 hours until tender.
- Remove the pork belly from the oven and set aside on a plate covered in aluminum foil. Strain the leftover liquid with a large sieve over a stockpot, discard the vegetables and skim the excess fat from the braising liquid.
- Heat a pan on high heat and add the remaining oil. Cut the pork belly into four equal pieces and sear on all sides until crispy, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm. Before this step, reduce the glaze.
- For the glaze: start by reducing the braising liquid by half for about 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Add the coffee and honey and continue cooking for about 5 minutes until it thickens. You will know the sauce is done when it coats the back of a spoon. Set aside.
- For the scallops: Season the scallops with salt and pepper. In the same hot pan as the pork belly, sear the scallops on both sides for about 1 minute.
- For Serving: drizzle the coffee glaze over the pork belly. Top with a scallop. Season with sea salt and serve.