PORK BELLY BURGER

Pork

Pork belly used to be something I liked to order at fancy restaurants. But then I figured out how to braai it, which, not surprisingly, makes it taste even better. The meat looks quite fatty and tough to start with, but after 2 hours of steady heat most of that fat braais out, and the meat gets very tender. Basically, you’re going to braise the meat with an amazing smelling Asian-style marinade inside your potjie. The result will be a succulent piece of pork with a crispy, smoky outer layer of fat called crackling.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • peeled rind of 1 orange (solid peel, not grated or zested)
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tot chopped fresh ginger
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1 kg pork belly (ask your butcher for one with a relatively thin layer of fat)
  • 1 baby cabbage, shredded
  • 2 carrots, grated
  • 250 ml French style mayonnaise

Method

  1. Score the fat of the pork belly. This means you must use a sharp knife to cut a criss-cross pattern into the outer layer of fat.
  2. In our potjie,  throw in all the ingredients except the meat. Stir well to dissolve the sugar slightly.
  3. Now add the pork belly fat side up, and spoon some of the marinade over the top. The liquid should come up the sides but not completely cover the top of the meat.
  4. Cover the potjie with the lid and let this potiie simmer on low heat for 2 hours. You want the heat to be around 150’. Half-way during the cooking process you can open the lid of the potjie to spoon more of the sauce onto the meat.
  5. Remove the meat from the potjie once the meat is soft and cooked. Put the meat on a wooden cutting board and let it rest for a few minutes. Leave the potjie on th fire so that the sauce can reduce.
  6. Slice the meat into 2 cm-thick slices and place into your hinged grid. Now braai these belly pieces over hot coals until nice and crispy.
  7. Build your burger by placing a nice portion of mayonnaise on the bottom bun, followed by the pork belly. Top the belly with your cabbage and carrot slaw. And finally drizzle the reduced sauce over.

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