SV pork belly with homemade bao... and other stuff

caliking

What the fark is wrong with me? Today was not the day for this cook... but the eggs had not been lit in a month and I was jonesing real bad.

On call this weekend. Should have set up the SV for the pork belly last night, but was lazy (read= worn out by a 10 month-old). Went to work in the morning. The venerable @cazzy calls to entice me into joining him for lunch at Killen's BBQ, but I was stuck at work and had to pass. Fark! Saw a break in the clouds so ran home to set up the SV pork belly. Recipe from serious eats.

Mirin, light soy, lemongrass, thai chilies, sugar, garlic, ginger, fish sauce

Two widdle pieces of belly packed up and ready to go. Bought at one of the Asian markets here. Surprisingly, way more meat than I would have expected for pork belly.

SV @ 175°F x 6hrs. Should have gone 10hrs+ but I was behind the 8-ball today. Once the SV was loaded up, I had to jet back to work and was stuck there for most of the afternoon. Got back home in time to start making the dough for the bao. Fired up the LBGE and seared the pork. Basted with the jus from the SV bag.

Steamed the bao. They look kinda goofy because I'm not a professional bao maker.

Plated shot.

Now pay attention. Remember when I said the eggs had not been lit in a month? Well I went a little nuts. Homemade bao, SV pork belly.Dressed with some of the reduced jus form the SV bag.  Pickled onions from a recipe from another forum member (freakin' awesome!) Beet and cauliflower puree in the front, with toasted pecans and a dash of homemade "curry powder" (also a real hit). Tamarind habanero rum glaze/sauce for the squiggles on the plate. The puree and tamarind sauce were leftovers from yesterdays cook (which kinda failed).

Verdict - the bao and the puree were the stars of the show. The bao was definitely worth the effort. The toasted pecans in the puree gave it some body, and the color was just beautiful. The pork belly needed more time in the SV, but turned out good nonetheless. The tamarind sauce and the onions cut the fat of the pork just right.

Caliprince went to sleep at 8:30p. Dinner was at 10p. I'm beat. Cali out.

paqman

Wow, just wow!

CPARKTX

Amazing! Well done.

henapple

Helluva comeback

theyolksonyou

Yep, WOW.

SaltySam

I take my earlier answer back. I want to meet you instead.

blind99

For the win! That's an amazing cook - you've got a second career as a chef if the first gets old!

caliking

Thanks for the compliments, folks

@SaltySam - Salado '15 buddy! We can raid @henapple 's PBR cooler together. I'm quite good at that.

@blind99 - I'm one lottery ticket away from retirement! There are many many great cooks on here, who are a great source of inspiration (and plenty of helpful advice).  Its what makes this place awesome.

fletcherfam

Wanna pass along that pickeld onion recipe? My kids love pickled onions & garlic.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I've had issues getting the texture right on SV belly too. It's been good- just not that ooey gooey goodness I was looking for. Once my kitchen is rebuilt (I've been eating off my eggs on my living room coffee table for 7 weeks now- 2 more to go) I need to play around with a few smaller pcs to see what they magic number is.

where did you find the Bao recipe?

The Cen-Tex Smoker

@saltysam- just remember- if you dig through the ice in Henapple's cooler and feel a hand (or worse), don't fret, it's just Little Steven. It's best just to let him finish.

uwing

I have yet to master the plating. Looks good caliking

DMW

Nice! I need plating lessons...

CarolinaCrazy

Many that looks awesome. I love making the Pork Belly Buns (Bao) from Momofuku.  This looks like it is right up there with that.

Canugghead

I've yet to try sv pork belly, that plating is insane! If you didn't already have a successful career, I'd say you'll excel as a food decorator and writer!

RAC

Damn!!!! ^:)^ ^:)^ ^:)^

caliking

fletcherfam said:

Wanna pass along that pickeld onion recipe? My kids love pickled onions & garlic.

I think I got it from @coffeguydenton, who said it was a Bobby Flay recipe.

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1163631/pulled-pork-tacos-with-pickled-red-onions

Pickled red onions

1 1/2 cups red wine vinegar

2 T sugar

1 T kosher salt

1 tsp mustard seed

1 red onion

Bring vinegar to a boil, add sugar, salt and mustard seed, simmer until sugar and salt have dissolved, remove from heat and allow to cool at least 10 minutes. Cut red onion in half and then slice thinly.  Placed onion in 24 oz pasta sauce jar and poured pickling solution over.  Placed in fridge and allowed 12 hours prior to eating.

caliking

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

I've had issues getting the texture right on SV belly too. It's been good- just not that ooey gooey goodness I was looking for. Once my kitchen is rebuilt (I've been eating off my eggs on my living room coffee table for 7 weeks now- 2 more to go) I need to play around with a few smaller pcs to see what they magic number is.

where did you find the Bao recipe?

Bao recipe= http://chinesefood.about.com/od/dimsumbuns/r/steamedbun.htm

I think I picked this one because the picture looked like the bun had the right texture I wanted. First time using this recipe, second attempt at making bao, but I liked this recipe more.

The Serious Eats recipe called for SV @ 170° x 10 hrs, I pulled at 6hrs because I didn't have enough time. I doubt the pork belly would have become super tender after another 4 hours, so I'll try 24hrs next time  and then go from there.  

caliking

@CarolinaCrazy - any tips for making the pork belly?

@Canugghead - Thanks for the compliment After I put the plates on the table, SWMBO asked me if I was finished taking pictures before she put a fork on my plate. It was late and we were starving, but she knows I'm a food geek. So happy that I married her!

SaltySam

@caliking I'll definitely see you in Salado. Can't wait!

I've had Bao three times in my life. Most recently, I tried a Trader Joe's frozen box. Despite the cashier's total endorsement, they were disgusting. I also had them at a White Sox game. One of the vendors at the ball field is called Wow Bao. I gave it a shot and it was delicious. In fact, my 10-year old went and got a couple buns for himself.

However, the absolute BEST Bao I've ever had came from a Lawson convenience store in Okinawa, Japan. I think I've probably told this story before on the forum, but whatever. I had two buns every day for the last two weeks of my TDY there. The clerk, who spoke no English, knew me by name by the end. I walked in and she immediately started bagging up two steamed buns. I thought those were crazy good. I can't even imagine what 24-hour sous vide pork belly tastes like. Please tell me you're cooking in Salado.

theyolksonyou

Ok I know I commented earlier, but my wife, like many gets tired of all the photos. I was showing her this as an example of what's on the forum. My 12yr old son, being nosy asks to see so I passed him my phone. I was explaining what was on the plate to my wife, looked over and the boy was about to lick my phone.

you win.

Black_Badger

It's cooks like this that put @caliking on my 'who do you most want to meet' list. Dude that looks fantastic (honestly, bao most of all!).

Congrats on a silly good looking cook, and thank you for sharing. Bookmarked for sure...

Cheers -
B_B

Brisket_Fanatic

That a crazy amount to do with a 10 month old. You can't turn back on them at that age, awesome cook!

caliking

Brisket_Fanatic said:

That a crazy amount to do with a 10 month old. You can't turn back on them at that age, awesome cook!

The 10-mo I can deal with - his schedule is rather predictable. However, I wasn't expecting things to blow up like they did t work, which is what made me frantic. The meat was thawed and I was mentally committed, so on I went

@SaltySam - kind of like how I fell in love with Spam musubi form the ABC stores in Honolulu a few years back!. Yes, I'll be cooking at Salado, but I doubt it will be this fancy.

Where are you from? If Chicago, then there used to be a place called Ed's Potsticker House that was my favorite Chinese place in the city. Houston has some terrific Chinese food if you're ever in these parts.

@Black_Badger - thanks for the compliment.

@theyolksonyou - I'm counting your son's as the best compliment I've received re: this cook. Thank you.

Chubbs

Show off

caliking

Chubbs said:

Show off

Dude - where have you been?? Glad to see you back. You've been missed.

Chubbs

caliking said:

Chubbs said:

Show off

Dude - where have you been?? Glad to see you back. You've been missed.

Been lurking but haven't posted much lately. Good to see all is well with you my friend

CaseIHman

Ok Emril!! Lol now I'm scared to post pics after that amazing plating!

Judy Mayberry

I don't know where you get the energy to do the whole process, plus presentation! So does your wife do the dishes?

I had never had pork belly or even known where to buy it. Last week I picked up a package in Trader Joe's refrigerated section.

I sliced it into 4 slices and froze three of them. The box directions said to just fry them till crisp in a skillet. So I did. 

What a glorious dinner! Crunchy outside and meltingly soft inside. I' a fan!

caliking

Judy Mayberry said:

I don't know where you get the energy to do the whole process, plus presentation! So does your wife do the dishes?

I had never had pork belly or even known where to buy it. Last week I picked up a package in Trader Joe's refrigerated section.

I sliced it into 4 slices and froze three of them. The box directions said to just fry them till crisp in a skillet. So I did. 

What a glorious dinner! Crunchy outside and meltingly soft inside. I' a fan!

We take turns doing dishes Kinda depends on what caliprince is up to at the moment.

Pork belly is readily available at the Asian markets here in Houston (as well as other places I'm sure). Its the new flatbread. A number places in Chinatown do amazing things with it.

How could you not like fatty pork , right?

fletcherfam

@caliking, thanks for the recipe!