Have you ever heard of iron-clad pork belly? On Thursday night, over on Random Yummy, I posted a recipe demonstrating how I tied two stainless knives either side of a strip of pork belly to keep the meat tender and juicy while the crackling got crispy and crunchy.
Dedicated to my American friends given today is 2020-07-04 and it’s American Independence Day. It’s also the birthday of a Tweep I follow, viz., Kate Kate bought toilet rolls for her birthday.
I also cooked some fresh Italian noodles, also known as pasta, from Otis Dining Hall which I received after dining there last Friday night.
I’m guessing this what Otis Dining Hall calls Truffle fettuccine “Cacio e Pepe” with truffle and miso butter, pecorino cheese and specialty seasoning. According to Google Translate, this means cheese and pepper.
In my mind, this is a fusion meal noting the love of pork belly by Asians and the love of pasta by Italians. One of my brothers went to Italy for a kayaking competition. I’d like to go to Italy and take cooking lessons and spend a day breaking down a pig. It’s my hope that the Italians recover well from the ravages of COVID-19. Hopefully, the world we live on will recover so that visiting other countries is possible again.
I ate this iron-clad pork belly meal while participating in a work teleconference. In my mind, this is working from home done the right way 😃👍
Yummy Lummy is not sponsored by anyone.
Recipe
It’s important to read the recipe before cooking because the timing of processes needs to be understood.
Iron-clad pork belly and Otis Dining Hall truffle noodles
Iron-clad pork belly and Otis Dining Hall truffle noodles. A wonderful fusion meal incorporating pork, scallops, and pasta.
Pork belly
- 1 Strip Pork belly
- 3 Lengths Cooking twine
- 2 Stainless steel knives
- Iodised salt
Pasta
- 2 Cups Truffle fettuccine
- 2 Tablespoons Truffle and miso butter
- 2 Tablespoons Pecorino cheese
- 2 Tablespoons Specialty seasoning courtesy of Otis Dining Hall
- 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Very coarse freshly ground black pepper
Pork belly
- Heat the toaster-oven to 200 °C.
- Remove the strip of pork belly from its plastic vacuum packaging.
- With some absorbent paper kitchen towel dry the skin as much as possible.
- On a cutting board align two stainless steel knives to either side of the strip of belly pork.
- With three lengths of cooking twin bind the knives to the strip of pork belly.
- Use whatever knots you like. I like to use surgical knots which I learnt in medical school.
- Crumple a sheet of baking paper with your hands into a tight ball and unfurl it so it becomes easier to lay on a baking sheet.
- Put the iron-clad pork belly strip onto the baking paper and rub some coarse iodised salt onto the porcine skin.
- Put the pork into the toaster oven for 40 minutes so the crackling gets crisp and crunchy and the meat stays succulent, tender and soft.
- Once cooked, snip the twine with cooking sheers and pull the knives from the flesh to reveal how the steel conducted the heat and yet contained the juices.
- With a sharp cooks knife, cut the strip into approximately 1 cm rectangular prisms.
Pasta
- Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil.
- Cook the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid before draining.
- Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the foam from the butter subsides.
- Add the pepper and cook, stirring, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute.
- Add the pasta and up to ¾ cup of the reserved cooking liquid, tossing to coat.
- Sprinkle the Parmesan on top and continue to cook, tossing, until the cheese is melted and the pasta is well coated, about 2 minutes.
- Add a little more of the cooking liquid to loosen, if necessary.
- Season with salt and serve with additional Parmesan and pepper.
Plating up bit
- Add the pork belly to the pasta.
Blogging bit
- Shoot a photograph.
- Eat the meal.
- Wash the dishes (hint, wash as you cook, it makes life easier).
- Write the recipe.
- Write the blog post.
- Hit publish and hope this blog post gets shared on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Disclaimer
I have no culinary training nor qualifications.
This post is not intended to convey any health or medical advice.
If you have any health concerns about anything you read, please contact your registered medical practitioner.
The quantities are indicative. Feel free to vary the quantities to suit your taste.
I deliberately do not calculate the energy for dishes. I deliberately default to 500 Calories or 500,000 calories because I do not make these calculations.
Photographs
This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and then scroll through the photographs. I’ve been told the gallery doesn’t always work on older versions of Windows Internet Explorer. I suggest Google Chrome or using a Mac.
Fresh Italian noodles from Otis Dining Hall 
Otis Dining Hall truffle fettuccine, truffle butter, pecorino cheese and specialty seasoning. 
Otis Dining Hall truffle fettuccine, truffle butter, pecorino cheese and specialty seasoning. 
Otis Dining Hall truffle fettuccine, truffle butter, pecorino cheese and specialty seasoning. Iron-clad pork belly tied with twine and ready for the oven 
Whole black peppercorns in a mortar. Grind fresh with a pestle. 
Whole black peppercorns in a mortar. Grind fresh with a pestle. 
Whole black peppercorns in a mortar. Grind fresh with a pestle. 
Salted water 
Fettuccine in boiling salted water 
Fettuccine in boiling salted water 
Truffle butter and olive oil with freshly ground black pepper and specialty seasoning from Otis Dining Hall 
Truffle butter and olive oil with freshly ground black pepper and specialty seasoning from Otis Dining Hall 
Finishing the fettuccine in the skillet with the truffle and miso butter, olive oil, and, pecorino cheese, black pepper, and specialty seasoning Iron-clad pork belly and Otis Dining Hall truffle noodles with truffle and miso butter, pecorino cheese and specialty seasoning. 
Iron-clad pork belly and Otis Dining Hall truffle noodles with truffle and miso butter, pecorino cheese and specialty seasoning. 
Iron-clad pork belly and Otis Dining Hall truffle noodles with truffle and miso butter, pecorino cheese and specialty seasoning.
Questions and answers
Have you ever seen pork belly cooked like this?
I’ve never seen this method of iron-clad pork belly before, although I got the idea when I was thinking of using aluminium foil to protect the meat on a slab of pork belly.
What’s with the carbs?
Well, I didn’t want the pasta to go to waste. It would be a shame.
Did this fusion meal work?
Yes, I was pretty happy with it. Iron-clad pork belly with crispy crackling and lovely rich creamy peppery pasta.
Final thoughts
- Have you ever seen iron-clad pork belly cooked between two knives before?
- Do you like truffle with pasta?
- Would you eat pasta with chopsticks?
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You are so very clever with your newly created cooking method. This is a meal my husband would absolutely love!
Thanks, Karen. It’s funny the things you think of while busy at work and adapting one solution for a problem for another.
Pork and pasta is like my dream winter dish. I’m fascinated by this iron clad pork belly too! Thanks Gary, I might just have to try it. Do you think it’s ok for the knives? I just don’t want anything to happen to them.
Hi Lorraine,
I wouldn’t use your best silverware. I used a couple of cheap stainless steel knives. The knives cleaned up okay with a scourer and I’ve since done it again and put the knives in a dishwasher and the knives are fine.
Gaz
I’ve never seen pork belly prepared like this before–thanks for sharing!
My pleasure 😃
Awesome cooking technique on the pork belly brother. Filing this for future crispy pork. Nom! 🙂
Always happy to help a brother enjoy pork belly more.
I’ve never seen pork cooked that way and admire your entrepreneurial cooking mindset! (Also the fusion dish!). I would eat pasta with chopsticks – that would work well. Truffle’s a bit overrated in my opinion…? (Though I did make a gorgeous mushroom pate for Christmas and put truffle oil in it and it was delicious.)
Thanks, Emma. I tend to agree about truffles. I don’t believe they’re worth the money. Most of the time I don’t taste the truffle when the dish has been subtle with the truffle 😃
One of my cats Sooty is very keen on pork belly. He had some this morning from last nights. Very appreciative.
It’s close to my favourite meat 😃😃👍
Interesting technique with the knives
Thanks. It seems to have the desired effect.