Eggs ‘Benedicts’ with crispy pork belly and homemade crumpets
- 4
- 1 hour 40 minutes plus 4 hours slow-cooking time, overnight chilling time and 1 hour batter resting time
Richard Bainbridge shares his own twist on eggs Benedict – named after his beloved restaurant Benedicts. Served on homemade crumpets and featuring crispy slices of slow-cooked pork belly, the star is that all-important perfectly poached Freshlay Farms Golden Yolker® egg and velvety hollandaise. Next time you’re having people round for breakfast or brunch, this will certainly impress.
To cook the pork belly on a barbecue: set up a barbecue with a lid for indirect grilling. Prepare the pork with the mustard, spice run and glaze as per the recipe, but without the foil or tray. Transfer the pork to the cool side of the grill and cook for 20 minutes. Spray with the vinegar spritz, turn it over and repeat for another 20 minutes. Half-close all the vents, cover and continue to cook for 1 hour, turning every 20 minutes. Remove the pork, spray liberally again with the vinegar then wrap it up tightly in foil. Place it back on the cool side of the grill and cook for a further 2 hours until it is soft and tender. Proceed from step 8.
Note: this dish is also great – and much quicker – if you replace the pork belly with thick slices of bacon. But if you take the time to make the pork belly properly, it really does elevate the dish to something special.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 4 Freshlay Farms Golden Yolker® eggs
- salted butter, for spreading
- chives, finely sliced, to serve
PORK BELLY
- 1.5kg pork belly with ribs, skin removed
- 50g of hot smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp of chilli powder, or chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp of ground cumin
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
- 60g of sea salt
- 2 tbsp of ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated or 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
GLAZE
- 2 tbsp of barbecue sauce
- 1 tbsp of cider vinegar
VINEGAR SPRITZ
- 100ml of barbecue sauce
- 100ml of cider vinegar
CRUMPETS
- 250g of strong white flour
- 250ml of whole milk, warm
- 150ml of warm water
- 7g of dried yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- neutral oil, for greasing
HOLLANDAISE
- 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 5 white peppercorns
- 1 shallot, finely sliced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 3 Freshlay Farms Golden Yolker® egg yolks
- 150g of butter, melted
Equipment
- Spray bottle
- Crumpet rings
Method
Cook the pork belly the day before you want to serve the dish. Remove the pork from the fridge 1 hour before preparing to allow it to come to room temperature
- 1.5kg pork belly with ribs, skin removed
To make a spice rub for the pork belly, mix all the ground spices, salt, pepper and garlic together and set aside
- 50g of hot smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp of chilli powder, or chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp of ground cumin
- 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
- 60g of sea salt
- 2 tbsp of ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated or 2 tbsp garlic powder
For the glaze, whisk together the barbecue sauce and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside
- 2 tbsp of barbecue sauce
- 1 tbsp of cider vinegar
For the vinegar spritz, whisk together the barbecue sauce and vinegar then transfer to a spray bottle and set aside
- 100ml of barbecue sauce
- 100ml of cider vinegar
Preheat the oven to 140°C (or see note how to cook on a barbecue). Rub the Dijon mustard all over the pork to completely cover it. Liberally dust the pork all over with half the spice rub and gently massage in
- 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
Lay a large piece of foil big enough to wrap up the pork belly on a work surface. Spoon half of the glaze onto the foil and lay the pork on top, fat-side up. Spoon over the rest of the glaze and wrap the foil around the pork and seal. Place in a deep roasting tray and add a cup of water (or beer if you have it) to the tin. Roast in the oven for 3½-4½ hours or until the pork parcel is soft to touch
Remove the tray from the oven, carefully open the parcel – it will release steam – and turn the oven up to 240°C. Sprinkle the remaining spice rub onto the pork and generously spray with the vinegar spritz. Place the tray back in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until it has started to caramelise (check it after 10 minutes)
Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly for about 10-20 minutes with a tray on top (or a cover) to stop the pork drying out
Carefully remove the rib bones and leave the pork to cool completely. Once cold, store in the fridge overnight
The next day, slice the pork belly into thick slices (you’ll need around 500g) and store in the fridge until needed
For the crumpets, mix all the ingredients together, except the bicarbonate of soda, in a bowl and leave for an hour
- 250g of strong white flour
- 250ml of whole milk, warm
- 150ml of warm water
- 7g of dried yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Stir the bicarbonate of soda into the crumpet batter and mix well
- 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease 4 crumpet rings with oil whilst you preheat a frying pan on a medium heat. Divide the crumpet batter between the greased crumpet rings and cook for 6-8 minutes over a medium heat until little bubbles appear, then flip over (removing the rings) and cook for another minute or so on the other side. Set the crumpets aside to cool
- neutral oil, for greasing
For the hollandaise, place the vinegar, lemon juice, shallot and peppercorns in a saucepan and heat until boiling. Simmer for a couple of minutes, then allow to cool. Strain the reduction through a sieve, discarding the solids
- 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 shallot, finely sliced
- 5 white peppercorns
Put a heatproof bowl over the top of a small pan of gently simmering water, ensuring the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Add the egg yolks and whisk until fluffy, then incorporate the vinegar reduction. Slowly pour in the butter, whisking continuously until thick and glossy. Season to taste and keep warm
- 3 Freshlay Farms Golden Yolker® egg yolks
- 150g of butter, melted
In a hot dry pan, pan-fry the pork belly slices until crispy on both sides, then transfer to the oven, whilst you poach the eggs
To poach the eggs, bring a pan of water to a gentle simmer and add the vinegar. Crack each egg into a small bowl, then gently slide into the water. Poach for 2½-3 minutes until the whites are set and the yolks remain soft. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper
- 1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
- 4 Freshlay Farms Golden Yolker® eggs
Meanwhile, toast the crumpets and spread with butter
- salted butter, for spreading
To serve, divide the crispy pork belly slices between the crumpets, lay the poached eggs on top and spoon over the hollandaise. Finish with finely sliced chives and freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately
- chives, finely sliced, to serve
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With a background in classical cooking in Michelin-starred kitchens, Richard Bainbridge returned to his home city of Norwich to open Benedicts, a renowned restaurant which serves Norfolk produce cooked with passion, playfulness and creativity.
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