French Cooking: Braised Poitrine or pork belly

"Poitrine" to "breast" or “belly,” depending on the word we use in English, so a poitrine of chicken will be chicken breast and a poitrine of pork is pork belly for us. I guess to the French, it’s just the front of the animal, so the front of a chicken is like the front of a pig or something…?

Pork belly will do, but look for thicker cuts: the French cut is very different than the American.

It’s been said that if you give a pig or a cow to an American butcher, a British butcher or a French butcher, they will break the animal down quite differently. That may or may not always be true, but the French poitrine will often be 2-3” thick, including some of the ribs as well, a much thicker cut than you’ll typically find in places in the US.

Note: this is fast prep and then a long and slow cooking time.  

Easy poitrine du porc

Just throwing everything into the pot a bit roughly is a part of what makes this dish work.

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:

·      2.6 lbs of pork belly

·      1 cup (or more) dry white wine

·      2 onions, peeled and quartered

·      8 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

·      3 sage leaves

·      1 sprig of thyme

·      1 tablespoon of olive oil

·      Salt, to taste

·      Espelette pepper (or substitute with mild chili powder), to taste

Equipment:

- Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with a cover

Instructions:

1. Season Pork:

   - score the skin side of the pork belly in a criss-cross pattern. I use a bread knife sometimes. Then lightly salt and pepper the poitrine/pork belly

2. Brown the Pork:

 Odd olive oil, heat pan to medium and sear poitrine/pork belly until browned on all sides.

   - Reduce heat to medium, add onions and garlic. Sauté until onions start to soften.

4. Deglaze:

   deglaze with white wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.

   Reduce wine for about 5 minutes on slightly lower heat

5. Add Herbs and Spice:

   - Add sage, thyme, and a sprinkle of Espelette pepper or mild chili powder. Mix, cover and put in oven @ 325°F (160°C) for 90 minutes. Check occasionally

Before serving, skim excess fat, the poitrine or pork belly should fall apart quite easily

Note: you can add carrots or other root veg to roast along with this. I like parsnips.