Pork Belly and Scallop Starter With Coffee Glaze

Submitted by Chuck Hughes

"Slow-braised pork belly is paired perfectly with a delicate scallop drizzled with a thick coffee glaze. Recipe courtesy Chuck Hughes"

 

• Ready In: 3hrs 50mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• Pork Belly

• 2 lbs fresh pork belly
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 fennel bulb, quartered
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 4 cups veal stock
• 1 cup hard cider or apple juice

• Scallops

• 4 large scallops
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

• Coffee Glaze

• braising liquid
• 1 teaspoon black coffee
• 1 tablespoon honey

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. For the pork belly:

3. Season the pork belly with salt and pepper. On medium-high heat, in half the oil, sear the meat in an oven-proof casserole dish on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, onion, fennel, thyme, and peppercorns and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, or until caramelized. Add the veal stock and hard cider. Cover the casserole dish with a lid, or securely with tin foil, and braise the pork belly in the oven for 3 hours, until tender. Remove the pork belly from the oven and set aside on an aluminum-foil covered plate. Strain the leftover liquid with a large sieve over a stockpot, discard the vegetables and skim the excess fat from the braising liquid. Heat a pan on high heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Cut the pork belly into 4 equal pieces and sear on all sides until crispy, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm. Before this step, reduce the glaze.

4. For the glaze:

5. Start by reducing the braising liquid by half for about 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Add the coffee and honey and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until it thickens. You will know the sauce is done when it coats the back of a spoon. Set aside. For the scallops: Season the scallops with salt and pepper. In the same hot pan as the pork belly, sear the scallops on both sides for about 1 minute.

6. For serving:

7. Drizzle the coffee glaze over the pork belly. Top with a scallop. Season with sea salt and serve.