Ultimate Michelin Pork Belly

Presenter / Source References

• Presenter: Chef John Bates is referenced (original restaurant/served at a festival; recipe not publicly released).
• Channel/creators: The subtitles are spoken by the video’s host (no channel name given in the subtitles).
• Suppliers referenced:
  • HG Walter (for a similar pork belly)
  • Mention of Lipton peach tea and hickory smoked water (brand/source not specified beyond “buy online”)

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Ingredients (with quantities/substitutions mentioned)

Dry cure / rub (Texan-style; amounts not specified)

• Pepper
• Salt
• Granulated garlic

Peach tea glaze (no exact measurements)

• Lipton peach tea (reduced in a pan)
• Dark muscovado sugar
• Cider vinegar
• Peach jam
• Smoked water (hickory smoked water; use a little, taste, then add more)
• Tiny bit of salt (for final balance)

Optional “secret touch” to reserved glaze:

• Dash of bourbon (burn off alcohol with a blowtorch)
• Butter (a couple of knobs; “monte” to emulsify for shine)

For confit

• Vegetable oil or sunflower oil (enough to cover pork belly)
• Substitution: any animal fats if available

Finishing

• Maldon salt (flaky, for crunch/finishing)

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Equipment + Preparation Steps

• Fridge (for curing and later chilling overnight/set)
• Pan (to reduce peach tea into a glaze)
• Whisk (to combine glaze ingredients until smooth)
• Oven:
  • 90°C for long confit-style cooking (6–8 hours; one belly took 7.5 hours)
  • 140°C for glazing/final caramelization (about 20 minutes, plus extra 5–10 minutes, then another 5–10 minutes after bourbon-butter stage as described)
• Cartouche (custom rectangular cover) placed on top of oiled belly under a lid
• Cling film (to set shape and lock steam/juices during chilling)
• Rack or draining tray (to drain oil before wrapping)
• Tray (for oven glazing of cut cubes/squares)
• Blowtorch (to burn off bourbon alcohol)
• Optional smoker knowledge: offset smoker concept mentioned; not used in the home method

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Method (step-by-step, with timings/temperatures/technique cues)

1) Choose & prep pork belly

• Use high-quality pork belly with high fat/intramuscular marbling (described as Duroc or Hampshire x Duroc cross).
• Skin off is used for the confit method.
  • If needed, ask the butcher to remove the skin.

2) Dry cure / dry brine

1. Rub pork belly all over with pepper + salt + granulated garlic cure.
2. Place in the fridge for 6 hours (dry brining/cure).

3) Make peach tea glaze

1. Reduce peach tea (Lipton peach tea) in a pan until it becomes:
   • Darker
   • Sweeter
   • More fruitier
2. Add:
   • Dark muscovado sugar
   • Cider vinegar
   • Peach jam
   • Hickory smoked water (add a little; it’s powerful—taste and add more as needed)
3. Whisk until smooth.
4. Adjust to the right stage:
   • Don’t make it super thick yet, because you’ll glaze and bake later to thicken/tighten.
5. Taste and add a tiny bit of salt as needed.
6. Set aside (glaze can be made the day before and reheated later).

4) Confit-style cook (skin-off belly)

1. Remove belly from fridge (after ~6 hours cure).
2. Cover belly in oil (vegetable/sunflower; or animal fat).
3. Place a rectangular cartouche on top and cover with a lid.
4. Oven cook at 90°C for 6–8 hours:
   • Start checking after 6 hours
   • It’s done when a spoon can be inserted with no give at all
   • One belly took 7.5 hours
5. After cooking:
   • Rest in oil 20–30 minutes to relax
   • Cool the oil for easier handling
6. Transfer to a rack/draining tray to drain some oil before wrapping.

5) “Set shape” and lock juices (home method mimic)

1. Wrap the belly in cling film (to set shape and lock in steam/juices as it cools).
2. Chill in the fridge overnight until completely set.
3. Example timing: after about 12 hours, remove cling film and cut into bite portions.

6) Portion into “bites” and glaze

1. Preheat/prepare oven to 140°C.
2. Cut the set belly into chunks or small squares (tray ready).
3. Warm/reheat the glaze.
4. Roll each piece in glaze, then place on the tray.
5. Add a tiny bit extra glaze on top of each.
6. Bake at 140°C to “glaze up”:
   • Check every 5–10 minutes to ensure glaze is reducing/thickening evenly
   • If it thickens too much, add more glaze to maintain the target consistency

7) Bourbon-butter “secret touch” + final caramelization

1. To the remaining glaze, add:
   • A dash of bourbon
   • Blowtorch to burn off alcohol
   • Butter knobs for silky shine (“monte”)
2. When the belly has been glazing in the oven for about 20 minutes and glaze is caramelized:
   • Apply the bourbon-butter glaze
3. Return to oven for about another 5–10 minutes
4. Then an additional 5–10 minutes is mentioned after checking—stop when it looks “good.”

8) Finish & serve

• Finish with a tiny bit of Maldon salt.
• Serve as melt-in-the-mouth, juicy, sweet-glazed bites (described as “squirt juice out”).

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Tips / Technique Cues / What to Watch For

• Critical ingredient: pork belly fat quality (high marbling) is emphasized for long slow cooking.
• Glaze thickness: start not super thick; the oven glazing step will thicken/tighten it.
• Smoked water: use a little—it’s powerful; taste and adjust.
• Glazing monitoring: check the tray every 5–10 minutes to reduce evenly.
• Confit cooling/rest: after cooking, rest 20–30 minutes in the oil to relax and cool before handling.
• Home “smoker-like” method: cling-film chilling mimics the smoke-cured/slow-cooked effect when you don’t have an offset smoker.

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Variations Discussed (brief)

• Method variation: confit is described as slightly better with the skin off; butcher can remove skin.
• Regional comparison (Texas vs elsewhere):
  • Traditional BBQ pork described as simply slow smoke → chop → mix with vinegar (South Carolina-style baseline)
  • This recipe is presented as more complex due to cure + glaze, including smoked water

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Plating / Serving Suggestions

• Portion into small perfect bites/squares, glaze thoroughly, and finish with flaky Maldon salt.
• Aim for melt-in-the-mouth, juicy, caramelized sweet balance.