This recipe was developed by Chef Tanya Baker for the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America®: “Local Flavor from Coast to Coast” Tour!
Prep for this recipe starts the night before and requires some effort, but once you taste the mouthwatering pork belly, you’ll know it was worth it. Paired with a crisp and tangy kefir kohlrabi slaw, this meal is one that will having your friends and family begging for more.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Lifeway Organic Organic Plain Whole Milk Kefir
- 1 slab boneless, skinless pork belly
- 5 oz kosher salt
- 5 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 Tbsp juniper berries, toasted and coarse ground
- 8 cloves garlic, chopped
- 8 sprigs rosemary, chopped
- 2 yellow onion, chopped
- 10 garlic cloves, smashed
- 10 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 cups white wine
- 4 qts chicken stock
- 4 bulbs green kohlrabi, peeled and julienne
- 3 Honeycrisp apples, julienne
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 small red onion, shaved
- Kosher salt/black pepper to taste
Directions
- Pork belly: combine kosher salt, 3 Tbsp black pepper, juniper berries, garlic and rosemary in a bowl to make a cure. Generously rub the cure on all sides of the pork belly before placing the pork on a parchment or plastic-lined sheet tray. Let sit overnight.
- Before cooking, completely rinse off the cure from the belly.
- Braising liquid: bring onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, 2 Tbsp black pepper, white wine and chicken stock to a boil in a large stock pot. Place the rinsed pork belly in a large hotel or roasting pan and pour liquid over belly.
- Cover with foil and cook at 325°F for 2 hours. Once cooked, remove foil and let the belly cool in the liquid.
- After the belly cools, pull out of liquid and place it onto a parchment-lined sheet tray. Chill for at least one hour before portioning.
- Kohlrabi slaw: Combined honey, Lifeway Kefir and salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk until incorporated. Add the kohlrabi, apples and onions. Stir to coat. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
