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braised pork belly tacos with watermelon, jicama & jalapeño salsa

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Braised Pork Belly Tacos with Watermelon, Jicama & Jalapeño Salsa

I created the recipe myself, it is available on my site: http://www.alaalison.com. I was inspired by the combination of pork belly/watermelon in a salad at Memphis Taproom, a Philly restaurant I love, and ran with the idea.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds Cut of Pork Belly
  • 5 cups water
  • 3/4 cup honey
  • 2 tablespoons whole pepper corn
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 3 tablespoons allspice
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons minced jalapeño, without seeds
  • 2 cups orange juice
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • Tortillas, small
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 3 cups cubed, seedless watermelon
  • Juice from 1 1/2 limes
  • 1 cup peeled, diced jicama
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons seeded, minced jalapeño
  • 1/2 large red onion, peeled/minced
  • Salt, to taste

Directions

  • Start by rinsing the pork and patting it dry.
  • Create the brine: Add the water, honey, bay leaves, 1/2 cup salt, and pepper corns to a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove the brine from heat and allow to cool completely before using.
  • Place the pork in a bowl and add the brine. Refrigerate for 6-7 hours, any more and the pork will become too salty.
  • Remove the pork from brine and pat completely dry. Allow to sit in room temperature for 30 minutes before braising.
  • Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Start by cutting the pork belly into strips roughly 1" wide, this yielded about ten strips for me. Season the strips with all spice, salt & pepper.
  • Place a dutch oven stovetop over medium heat. Once the oven is hot, place the strips fat side down.
  • Thoroughly brown the pork belly for 10-15 minutes, should have a wonderful golden color to them. Flip and sear the other side for under a minute.
  • Remove the pork to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off the fat, except for roughly 2 tbsp.
  • Add the shallot, jalapeno and garlic to the pot and saute in the remaining pork fat for 5 minutes.
  • Return the pork to the pot and add the juice and stock. Bring to a slight simmer, place a lid on the pot and move to the oven. The pork will cook for roughly 3 hours.
  • Create the salsa: Mix all the salsa ingredients together in a bowl while pork is cooking, this will allow the flavors to mix thoroughly before serving.
  • Remove the pork belly from the oven. Place a strip of pork belly with the salsa on the tortilla.

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