Lately, it seems that pork belly is all the rage. We’ve seen it prepared on Top Chef, have had it out a few times in restaurants, and Thomas Keller’s new book, Ad Hoc at Home, has a quite involved multiple day process for making the fatty cut. We thought we would try it out to see what we could come up with and decided to make it for Christmas. Our local butcher special ordered the belly for us and we were given a serious amount of something we had never cooked before. We braised half of it for Christmas, which we did Japanese style with soy sauce, ginger, and star anise and it was delicious, and decided to use the rest of it for making what pork belly is most known for – bacon.
It cured in a salt and brown sugar rub for a week and then we smoked it outside over hickory chips on our Weber charcoal grill in 5 degree northeast winter weather. Not the ideal time of year for slow smoking on an outdoor grill – our dog Japhy who loves bacon wouldn’t even come outside to help – but the results were definitely worth it. Pure salty cured pork without nitrates or preservatives makes a world of difference and worth braving the elements. We used some in an escarole and gruyere strudel inspired from northern Italy. And you certainly don’t need to make your own bacon to make this recipe, any good quality, nitrate free bacon will work just fine.
Recipe: Bacon, escarole and Leek Strudel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
- 3 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced lengthwise 1/4-inch thick
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups homemade chicken broth or canned low-sodium
- 1 small head escarole, washed and roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups grated gruyere cheese
- 6 slices thick bacon, cooked and finely chopped
- 1 pound puff pastry sheets
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 400 degrees.
- In a 12-inch skillet combine 1 Tbs of oil with the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and a generous pinch of salt and cook until just tender. Add the chicken broth, cover the pan and reduce the heat to low and cook until meltingly tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and transfer to a medium bowl.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and put back over medium heat. Add the escarole to the pan along with 2 Tbs. water, and a pinch of salt. Cover the pan and cook until wilted, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the lid from the pan and cook 1 minute more to reduce any remaining liquid. Transfer to the bowl with the leeks.
- Add the grated gruyere and bacon to the leek mixture and toss well to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Roll the puff pastry out into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Spoon the leek mixture out over the center of the puff pastry and fold the dough over the filling like an envelope. Pierce the top of the dough with the tines of a fork. Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the dough puffs and is a rich golden brown. Cut into slices and serve warm.
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