Pork Belly

Cooking times and processes change with each recipe, but here are a few guidelines from assorted recipes:-

2kg Pork Belly  150°C  2hrs over jus,  250°C dry until skin crackles  TheHome
2kg Pork Belly  180°C  1.5hrs skin (oiled) down dry,  220°C  45min skin up,  Rest 10mins.  Taste
1.3kg  Pork Belly  250°C 10-15mins over vegies, 170°C  2.5hrs.  JamieOliver
1.5kg  Pork Belly  220°C 30mins skin oiled down,  190°C 1.5hrs then 20mins skin up, Rest 15mins  BestRecipes
1.3kg Pork Belly  220°C 15mins,  170°C 2.5-3hrs.  Allrecipes

My first attempt at pork belly was a mix of all these recipes.

I scoured the skin with a Stanley Trimmer, rubbed in salt and pepper with olive oil.  Applied a moist smoke hickory rub on the skin and let it sit covered in the fridge for four hours.  I bought it out to rest for an hour uncovered for one hour while preparing the vegie base to be used as a jus after cooking.  Just for good luck, I injected it with a syringe full of apple sauce.

3 Average Carrots thickly cut
2 Average Onions quartered,
4 Average Sticks of Celery thickly cut
1 1/2 slices Left over Pumpkin cubed
4 Cloves Garlic
500ml Cheap Red Wine
500ml Chicken Stock

I placed the vegies in the liquid in a large oven proof pot, place a high trivet on top and the pork on that.  I thought I was cooking at  130°C fan forced (150°C normal) but I think it was fan assisted.  Anyways, after two hours at 130°C, the pork was looking great (even though it had shrunk to nearly a
half), but the vegies were grossly undercooked.  While finishing of the pork, for the crackling, at 250 °C, I continued to cook and reduce the vegies on the stove top.  The crackling was done in about 20mins but the jus took another hour to cook.  In the end, I used a hand wand to blitz the lumps out.


Served with steamed asparagus, brussels sprouts and chard, it was a very tasty meal which I will definitely attempt again.  Next time I will buy a better cut of belly and cook at 150 °C.

Here is another recipe:-

• Piece of pork belly
  
• 2 sprigs rosemary, a sprig each of thyme and sage
  
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
  
• 1 Litre apple juice
  
• Salt
  
• Olive Oil 
  
  1.  Take your pork belly and trim as necessary, if you have to, remove the bones from underneath (keep them to the side, and chuck on the grill at the same time as your pork belly, they will be a perfect snack about half way throughout the cooking time.)
  
  2.  Finely score the skin with either a sharp knife or a standard box cutter type blade. make the scores only through the skin, not down into the flesh. space the scores about 5mm apart, it may seem like a big gap, but as the skin contracts in the cooking process, this leaves you with a perfect crackling in the end.
  
  3.  Liberally grind some salt over the top and rub in thoroughly with your fingers, then rub in a tablespoon of olive oil.
  
  4.  Add all your hens to a large roasting tray, crushing and ripping them up to release their flavours, then add the apple juice straight into the tray. Lay the pork flesh side down into the tray and leave to marinate for approx 30 minutes, heat up your BBQ during this time, so it is nice and hot when you are ready to go.
  
  5.  Just before you put the pork in, place a roasting rack in the tray so the meat is not sitting in the liquid and stewing, but sitting above it throughout the cooking process.
  
  6.  Your BBQ needs to be scorching hot (the internal temp, not the plate, you don't want heat underneath the tray or the liquid will evaporate and your meat will dry out. About 220-240 degrees C when the meat goes in. You want the skin to start rendering fat very quickly.
  
  7.  Once you see the fat starting to bubble up through the scores, turn the temp down to about 180, and then leave it for about 1 hour before even opening the lid. If you are looking you are not cooking.
  
  8.  Give it a check after an hour , the meat should be turning a nice pale white colour, the skin should be starting to bubble up in places and starting to sound crispy when you tap with your knife. This is the time you need to use your judgement, depending on the size your pork may be ready at this stage, stick a knife down in between one of the scores toward the middle, if the juice that runs out is clear, you are probably close to being done, depending on your crackling/skin.
  
  9.  Once the meat is done, take it off, and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. You should be able to easily carve through the skin and all so you end up with nice juicy slices of meat and crispy skin topping each piece.
  
  
  Source: LifeStyleFood
  
  
  
  

Creamy Stovetop Polenta

This is by far the best polenta dish I have made.  A great alternative to rice and mashed potato as a bed on which to place a hearty meal.  Great accompaniment to snaggers and onion gravy or stewed beans.

(Serves 4)
150ml milk
½ tsp salt
150g coarse cornmeal
50g butter
25g grated parmesan (optional)

Put the milk in a large, heavy-based pan along with 600ml water and the salt, and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, measure out the cornmeal and put it near the hob.
It is vital to add the polenta very slowly, stirring constantly, or it will end up lumpy.
When the pan comes to the boil, add the cornmeal, letting it run in thin streams through your fingers, whisking continuously. Stir for a minute or two until it thickens.   Allowing it to thicken before you turn the heat down is also important.
Turn the heat right down and stir well, roughly every 4-5 minutes to prevent it sticking, for about 35-45 minutes, until the polenta begins to come away from the sides of the pan. Stir in the butter and cheese, if using, then put on a serving dish.

Reconstitute leftovers as below.

Source:  How to Make the Perfect Polenta

Here is a more traditional approach.

Makes about 4 cups

What You Need

Ingredients
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta or yellow cornmeal
1 cup cheese (optional)
1-3 tablespoons butter (optional)
Equipment
2- to 3-quart pot with lid
Whisk
Long handled spoon or sturdy spatula

Instructions

1. Bring the water to a boil. Bring the water to a brisk boil over medium-high heat. Add the salt.
2. Pour the polenta into the boiling water. While whisking gently, pour the polenta into the boiling water in a steady stream.
3. Continue whisking until polenta is thickened. Turn down the heat to low and continue whisking until the polenta has thickened enough that it doesn't settle back on the bottom of the pan when you stop stirring.
4. Cook the polenta 30-40 minutes. Cover the polenta and continue cooking. Stir vigorously every 10 minutes or so, making sure to scrape the sides, bottom, and corners of the pan. Cook 30 minutes for softer porridge-like polenta or 40 minutes for thicker polenta.
5. Stir in cheese and butter, if using. Stir the cheese and butter into the polenta, if using. Serve immediately, or cover the pan and let it sit at the back of the stove for up to 15 minutes before serving.

Additional Notes:

• Leftover Polenta: Polenta will solidify into the shape of the container in which you store it. Leftover polenta can be sliced or cubed before being roasted, grilled, or deep-fried. To make it creamy again, warm it with a little broth, milk, or water, and stir vigorously. It won't be quite as creamy as it was originally, but it should still be pourable.

Source:  Creamy Stovetop Polenta

Wheat Free All Purpose Flour and Recipes

Dr Oz featured the author of "Wheat Belly", Dr Davis flour recipe recently.  Here-under is also an alternative bread recipe and pizza crust recipe.

Wheat Belly Flour

Ingredients

• 4 cup almond meal (or almond flour)
• 1 cup ground golden flaxseeds
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground psyllium seeds (optional)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Keep in an air-tight container in the refridgerator and use as needed.

Butter Pie Crust (Pâte Brisée)

Yield: 2 crusts

Ingredients

• 2-1/2 cups of flour
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup of butter, very cold and cut into small pieces
• About 1/4 cup of ice water (or perhaps a little more as needed)

Instructions

1. Whisk together flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl, or pulse them in the bowl of a food processor a few times to mix.
2. Sprinkle the very cold pieces of butter over the top of the flour mixture.
3. If using a food processor, use about 10 one second pulses until the mixture resembles wet, coarse sand. If using a bowl, cut butter and flour mixture together with two knives or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles wet, coarse sand.
4. Add a few drops of water at a time and pulse food processor or mix dough with a spoon. Keep adding water until the dough just comes together to form a shaggy ball.
5. Divide dough into two balls and flatten slightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 60 minutes.
6. When you are ready to use the dough, remove from the refrigerator and allow it to stand for about 5-10 minutes.
7. Generously flour a silpat, pastry cloth, or your work surface and rolling pin. Roll dough into a round slightly larger than your pie dish.
8. If baking a one crust pie, shape into the pie plate. Prick holes in the pie, weight it with pie weights, and bake at 325 for 20 to 25 minutes.
9. If baking a two crust pie, follow recipe instructions for the pie.

Source:-  LoveToKnow

Wheat Belly Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup plau 2 tbsp garbanzo bean flour
• 1/4 cup ground golden flaxseed
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tbsp buttermilk
• 4 liquid stevia
• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional) 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8.5" x 4.5"loaf pan.

In a food processor, combine the almond flour, garbanzo bean flour, flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse until well blended. Add the egg yolks, butter, buttermilk and Stevia and pulse until just blended.

In a large bowl and using an electric mixer on high, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Pour into the flour mixture and pulse until the egg whites are evenly distributed, but do not run the machine at a constant speed. Spread into the pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, remove and cool completely on a rack.


Wheat Belly Pizza Crust

Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 1/2 cups ground almonds
• 1/4 cup garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour
• 1/4 golden flaxseed
• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

In a food processor, pulse the mozzarella until it becomes granular in size.

In a large bowl, combine the mozzarella, almonds, garbanzo bean flour, flaxseeds, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs, oil, and water and mix thoroughly.

Spread a large sheet of parchment paper over a baking sheet. Place the dough on the parchment paper and lay a second sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough. Flatten with a rolling pin into a 14" round.

Carefully remove the top layer of parchment paper. Use a spoon or your hands to form a crust edge. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

 Toppings

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 lb bulk or loose sausage
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 wheat-free pizza crust

• 2 cups sugar-free pizza or marinara sauce
• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red or green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

Preheat the over to 350°F.

In a skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Cook the sausage, onion, and garlic for 10 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked through and the onion is tender. Remove from the heat and drain if necessary.

Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet. Top with the sauce, mozzarella, sausage mixture, bell pepper, oregano, and Parmesan or Romano. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over the top.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until browned and the cheese melts.

Ingredients

• 10 oz all-purpose baking mix
• 3 oz grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 oz water
• 2 oz provolone, cut into cubes

• 3 oz graed mozzarella cheese
• 5 oz pizza sauce (no sugar added)
• 2 oz prosciutto, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 oz pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 1 tsp crunched red chilies (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper.

2. To make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the baking mix and cheese. In a small bowl, mix together the egg, oil, and water. Pour into the flour mixture and combine thoroughly.

3. Lay the dough on the baking sheet or pizza pan and, with moistened hands, press into a 12in circle, forming an outer edge. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees.

4. To make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the provolone and mozzarella. Remove the pizza crust from the oven and top with the sauce, cheese mixture, prosciutto, olives and pepper flakes, if desired. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

BBQ Butterflied Leg of Lamb

The general consensus on the web is to apply the rub or marinade at least two hours in the fridge and bring out to sit for thirty minutes prior to cooking.

For roasting :-

Preheat the barbecue to 200ºC (the burners should be set at medium), brush it  lightly with oil. Season with salt, pepper and flavourings.  Place the lamb in the centre of the barbecue, turn the burners directly under the meat off and cook indirectly.

Close the lid and roast for the recommended cooking time:

    Rare: 20-25 mins per 500g
    Medium: 25-30 mins per 500g
    Well done: 30-35 mins per 500g

Cover loosely with foil and rest for 10-20 minutes before carving. Carve the roast across the grain to ensure tenderness.

See Beef and Lamb.com.au


Front or Reverse Sear:-


Weight  Marinating  Side 1  Side 2   Bake      Rest                Temperatures              Reference
                                                                                     Sear           Bake          Meat    

1.5kg    3hours        10mins  5mins   15mins  10mins  Med/High  Med/Low           "Taste.com.au"
1.0kg    2hours          5mins  5mins   10mins  15mins  High          Med/Low            "Taste.com.au"
2.5kg    2hours          4mins  4mins   35mins  10mins  High          165c          55c     Simply Recipes

 Xmas 2015.  A 2.5kg butterflied leg marinated in an olive oil and "Mediteranean" rub bought of the shelf at Outdoor Chef  and cooked reverse seared for 40 mins, then 5 mins either side.

The result was smacko, with family raving about my skills!

Served with a gravy made from juices off the BBQ plate.



Sear or Grill Only

2.0kg   1hour           10mins  10mins  N/A     N/A      High          N/A             51c    Epicurious

Sauce or Mop 

 A basic sheep mop or dip is:-
1 bottle of beer
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup apple juice
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup canola
1 diced onion
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 tablespoon Wooster
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cayenne

Heat until dissolved, use as a mop or as a dip at the table.

Inspired by The BBQ Bretheren

Rubs

1/4 Cup Garlic Powder
1/4 Cup Onion Powder
1/4 Cup Dried Thyme
6 Tbs Paprika
4 tsp Black Pepper
4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
4 tsp Dried Basil
4 tsp Dried Oregano

Inspired by FabWeb

Reverse Sear Steaks on the BBQ Grill

According to FabWeb the best way to grill a "good" steak is by the "sear in the rear" or "reverse sear" method, which is to low temp smoke roast the meat with the lid down then it over high heat with the lid up and darken the exterior quickly, flipping often, so it doesn’t build up energy and overcook the interior.  A synopsis of their method is below.  Date Night Doins also has a good description of the method and you could watch a video here.

They suggest the following cuts of meat (in order) for a balance of tenderness and fat (taste):-

ribeyes
porterhouses
T-bones
strip steaks
cuts from the tenderloin such as chateaubriand and filet mignon
sirloin, round, flank, chuck, and other cuts, but these muscles are not as tender.

Steaks should be of the highest affordable quality, around 35mm thick and about 350gm.

Time:  2 hours to dry brine, and about 45 minutes to cook

Ingredients

2 Steaks
3/4 tsp kosher salt (or half that if using table salt)
1/3 cup beef, duck or bacon fat, vegetable oil or clarified butter (not regular butter as it has water in it)
fresh cracked black pepper


Method

1) About 2 to 4 hours before cooking, trim off most of the external fat if your BBQ is prone to flare ups.  Then sprinkle salt all over the meat.

2)  The challenge is to get the interior the same color bumper to bumper. That color is usually bright red and the temperature around 54.5°C/130°F to 57°C/135°F internally, medium rare. At that temp steaks are the most tender and juicy. Rare meat, often on the purple side, can be stringy and medium, into the pink range, has begun to dry out and get tougher.

On a charcoal grill set up your grill for 2-zone cooking. You want one side scorching hot and the other side at about 107°C/225°F.   I then put dry wood on the coals.

On a gas grill set up with 2-zones shooting for 107°C/225°F in the indirect zone. Start the meat on the indirect zone, put wood on the direct zone, and close the lid.

The trick is to get the meat as close to the cooking surface as possible, as close as 1″ below the meat.


For the first phase, cooking indirect, you want the meat to warm slowly.  On a kettle, you may have to place the lid on slightly ajar to maintain temp. With the lid on tight, the steaks may get too hot too quickly and they get tough.  You could leave the lid of and put a pan over just the meat depending on your grill and the weather.


After about 15 minutes start checking the interior temp keeping the probe away from any bone.

Flip the meat once or twice so it heats evenly on both sides. At this low temp, the exterior color should not go much beyond tan, if you added wood it might get a ruddy glow. At around the 30min mark, when the temp in the deepest part of the meat hits 43.5°C/110°F to 46°C/115°F, open the lid and leave it open.


3) The surface tastes best when high heat instigates caramelization.  There are also fats on the surface, and they contribute a lot to the flavor of the meat.

You want the lid open for this step!  You want the surface to get scorching hot so it will brown quickly without transferring heat to the center.

On a charcoal grill bunch the coals all together if necessary or add new hot coals.  You can take the meat off the grill and add more coals and wait for them to get hot if necessary.

On a gas grill, crank up the burners on the direct side.  You can take the meat off a while you wait for it to heat up.  An alternative to open grilling is using a hot plate.  A gas griller probably has a cast iron hot plate which will already be quite hot.  If not,  preheat a cast iron pan or a griddle in the hot zone, and sear by conduction. It goes fast and covers the entire surface.

Paint the meat with fat or oil and sprinkle on the black pepper.  Gently press it into the surface so it doesn’t all fall off, but a lot will.  Now move it to the hot side of the grill, as hot as possible, as close to the heat source as possible. The oil helps conduct heat to the meat, assists with browning by frying the surface, and adds flavor.  Beware of flareups that can cause soot.

The surface should be close to 93°C/200°F and each side can be ready in as little as 3 minutes (6 mins toal)!

Flip the meat frequently, every minute.  When you flip, try to place the meat on a virgin section of the grate that has not been cooled by contact with steak. After you flip, hit the top side with fat and freshly ground black pepper.   There’s enough heat there to extract flavor.  Check the color of that surface every flip and make sure you put the meat back down so the grates touch different parts of the surface.  We want everything evenly dark.  If a little of the edge fat blackens, that’s OK, but don’t blacken the muscle fibers.

Serve immediately.  There is no need to rest the meat.  It has been proven that this does nothing to improve juiciness.
When you have both exteriors perfect, the interior should be in the medium rare range, 54.5°C/130°F to 57°C/135°F . Err on the side of under cooking, you can always put a steak back on the grill, but if it is overcooked, you cannot bring it back to life.

There is no need to rest the meat. It has been proven that this does nothing to improve juiciness. Don’t let it cool off and lose its crust. Serve it hot.

A top range steak does not need garnishing but leaner cuts may.  You could place a daub of butter on the surface to add unctuousness, an herbed butter or butter with shallots or mushrooms.   Rich red wine sauce is a classic, as is horseradish cream sauce, or chimichurri.  Caramelized onions, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, grilled red peppers, are also popular garnishes.

Slow Cooking Tips and Recipes

Sample recipe links are at the end of this post.

Slow cooking can be an arcane art due to different temperature settings and efficiency of individual units and the quality of the ingredients being cooked.  Environmental factors such as climate and altitude together with electrical current consistency are also factors.  After a day researching (see below), I have found that newer slow cookers tend to cook at lower temperatures than older ones and are better sealed.

These differences make it difficult to cook from assorted recipes, as each recipe may be directed at a certain type and age of slow cooker than the one being used.  The result may be under/over cooked or dry and tough food.

I have two slow cookers, a new 5 in 1 multi cooker which allows me to saute and brown ingredients prior to slow cooking and an older ceramic style cooker.  Using the below research and the recipe books for these two slow cookers, I have come up with the following:-

Slow Cooker Type New Wave 5 in 1 Kambrook KSC100

Oven or stovetop 15 - 30 minutes 1 hour 1 - 3 hours 15 - 30 minutes 1 hour 1 - 3 hours

Slow cooker (high) 95–100 °C (203–212 °F) 2 - 3hours 4 - 6 hours 6 - 8 hours 2 - 3hours 3 - 4 hours 4 - 6 hours

Slow cooker (low) N/A N/A N/A N/A 4 - 6 hours 6 - 8 hours 8 - 12 hours

Heat Settings

By Manufacturer:-

Slow cooker (Type) West Bend Crockpot Cuisinart NewWave 5 in 1

Setting - high 93–100 °C (200–212 °F) 149 °C (300 °F) 100 °C (212 °F) 95–100 °C (203–212 °F)

Setting - low 79–85 °C (175–185 °F)  93 °C (200 °F)  93 °C (200 °F)

Setting - simmer  NA  N/A 85 °C (185 °F)

Setting -warm 68–77 °C (155–170 °F)  N/A 74 °C (165 °F)

By Cooking Pages:-

Source Wikipedia  Crok Pot King Answer Line DVO

Setting - high N/A 149 °C (300 °F) 149 °C (300 °F) 149–163 °C  (300–325 °F)

Setting - low 79–93 °C (175–200 °F) 93 °C (200 °F) 88 °C (190 °F) 93–99 °C (200–210 °F)

Setting - simmer  N/A  N/A 85 °C (185 °F) N/A

Setting -warm 71–74 °C (160–165 °F)  N/A 74 °C (165 °F) N/A

Timing

Taste.com suggests:-

Oven or stovetop 15 - 30 minutes 30 - 45 minutes 45 minutes to 3 hours

Slow cooker (high)  1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours  2 - 3 hours  4 - 6 hours

Slow cooker (low)  4 - 6 hours  6 - 8 hours  8 - 12 hours

 BbcGoodFood advises:-

Oven or stovetop 15 - 30 minutes 30 mins - 1 hour 1 - 2 hours 2 - 4 hours

Slow cooker (high)  1 - 2 hours  2 - 3 hours  3 - 4 hours  4 - 6 hours

Slow cooker (low)  4 - 6 hours  5 - 7 hours  6 - 8 hours  8 - 12 hours

Root vegetables can take longer than meat and other vegetables so put these near the heat source, at the bottom of the pot.

Slow Cooking for Dummies simplifies it:-

Oven or stovetop 45 minutes 50–60 minutes

Slow cooker (high)  3–4 hours  4–5 hours

Slow cooker (low)  6–10 hours  8–10 hours

AustralianBeefandLamb formulates:-

As a general guide 1 hour of simmering on the cooktop or in the oven equates to about 2-2.5 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low in a slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Recipes from Huff Post