Buttle Farm Pork Belly with Parsnip, Prune & Quince

Method:

For the Pork Belly

– Prepare the pork belly by removing the skin (use for crackling), leaving as much fat as possible. Season generously and vac-pack. Cook in a water bath for 12 hours at 83°C.

Alternatively, place in a roasting tray and cover with some good stock. Place in a 120°C oven and cook for 4-5 hours until fully cooked through.

– After 12 hours remove from water bath and press flat, weighing down the bag to compress the meat. When chilled (about 6 hours) cut into individual portions and score the fat side.

The Crackling

– Slice the reserved skin into long, thin strips. Combine in a bowl with plenty of salt and a splash of vegetable oil.

– Place these strips onto a baking tray lined with grease proof paper and cover with grease proof paper. Place another baking tray on top and add some weights to press the strips down.

– Place in a 180°C oven for 30-40 minutes until the crackling is turning golden brown. Remove the weights and top baking tray/grease proof paper and crisp up in the oven for a further 10 minutes.

For the Parsnip Crisps

– Peel the 2 parsnips and discard the skin peelings.

– Using the peeler again, peel strips from the parsnips, saving any trim for the purée. Deep-fry these at 130°C until crisp and season upon removal from the fryer.

Turned Parsnips

– Turn the 5 parsnips into about 5cm ‘crescent moon’ shapes using a turning knife, keeping all the trim for puree. Season and vac-pack the shapes with a knob of butter and cook in a water bath until softened, around 20-30 minutes.

At home you could simply cook in barely boiling, salted water until soft before finishing in foaming butter. Alternatively you could place the parsnips in a roasting tin and cover with oil. Cook in a low oven until soft.

Parsnip Puree

– Peel the additional 2 parsnips and cut into manageable pieces. Combine this with the trim from the crisps and turned parsnips. Season and vac-pac with 100g butter. Cook in a water bath until soft and finally blend in a food processor until very smooth.

Similarly to above, you can simply cook in boiling, salted water. Once soft, drain and blend in a processor with the butter until smooth.

For the Prunes

– Bring wine, water and sugar to a boil and set aside.

– Once cooled pour about 2/3rds of the liquid over the prunes and cover (use the rest of the poaching liquid for the quince). Cover the mixture with cling film and then leave until softened.

For the Quince

– Peel the quince, keeping the fruit you are not working with in a lemon-water solution. Cut the quince into thick slices or turn into similar shapes to the parsnips.

– Use the remaining poaching liquid to cover the quince and vac-pack Cook in a water bath until softened.

Use a low oven instead of the water bath at home. Make sure the quince is completely covered by the poaching liquid during the cooking process. Cook until soft.

Plating up

– Heat a pan until very hot and add 25 ml oil to the pan. Place the pork scored-side down and cook until browned. Transfer the meat to the oven to continue heating through.

– Heat the puree with a drop of cream or stock to help it reach the right consistency.

– Heat the turned parsnips, quince and prunes in separate pans until hot. Place the puree on the plate and top with the hot pork, crackling, prunes & parsnips.