Sous vide pork belly with Sichuan pepper and crab apple ketchup

  • 10
  • 60 minutes plus 24 hours to cook and press the pork
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This deliciously tender pork belly is glazed with a tart crab apple jelly spiced with the unique numbing heat of Sichuan peppercorns. Topped with crispy shallots for texture and sharp fresh apple to cut through the fatty meat, this dish can be served as a perfectly balanced starter, or can be part of a larger main. The pork needs cooking overnight in a water bath, so bear this in mind when preparing.

Matt serves his pork belly as part of a larger tasting menu, but you can increase the size of each portion if you're looking to create a larger main course.

First published in 2022

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Crab apple ketchup

  • 1 jar of crab apple jelly
  • 50g of Sichuan peppercorns
  • cider vinegar to taste

Crispy shallots

  • 2 shallots
  • 1 tbsp of flour, to dust
  • vegetable oil, for deep-frying

To garnish

Equipment

  • Sous vide equipment
  • Spice grinder
  • Squeezy bottle

Method

1

Begin by cooking the belly at least a day in advance, as it takes 10 hours to cook then needs pressing for a further 10 hours. Remove the ribs from the belly if still attached, then season the non-fatty side with salt all over and seal in a vacuum bag. Cook in a water bath at 85ºC for 10 hours

2

Once cooked, place the belly (still in its bag) in a tray and top with a second tray. Place something heavy on top of the top tray to weigh it down and press the pork flat. Place in the fridge and leave to set for 10 hours

3

To make the ketchup, grind the peppercorns in a spice grinder or blender to a fine powder, then blitz with the crab apple jelly until smooth. Taste and season with a dash of vinegar. Pass through a fine sieve and transfer to a squeezy bottle if you have one. Reserve in the fridge until needed

  • 1 jar of crab apple jelly
  • 50g of Sichuan peppercorns
  • cider vinegar to taste
4

Once the pork is fully set and chilled, remove it from the bag. Slice it into batons – Matt aims for 2.5x7.5cm batons to create 10 portions, but if you are after larger portions or cooking for fewer people then you can of course make each slice bigger. Set aside to come up to room temperature

5

To make the crispy shallots, place a small pan of oil over a medium heat and bring to 160ºC. Finely slice the shallots, then dredge the slices in the flour. Fry for a minute or 2 until crisp and golden; you may need to work in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. Drain on kitchen paper then roughly chop up to create a crumb

  • 2 shallots
  • 1 tbsp of flour, to dust
  • vegetable oil, for deep-frying
6

Peel, core and dice the apple into 5mm cubes. Reserve in water with a dash of lemon to prevent it from discolouring – though be sure not to do this too far in advance

7

Place a non-stick frying pan over a high heat with a dash of oil. Once hot, add the slices of pork belly and colour on all sides until crisp and golden

  • 1 dash of vegetable oil
8

Plate up the pork in the centre of each plate and glaze with the crab apple sauce. Top with the crispy shallot crumb, diced apple and cress and serve immediately

Following a year spent honing his skills at the legendary Eleven Madison Park in New York, in 2019 Matt Whitfield returned to the UK to take over as head chef at The Terrace at The Montagu Arms. He’s since taken up the position of executive chef at Kimbridge Barn near Romsey, where he serves a variety of different types of food.

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