Pork Belly Debris Grilled Cheese
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I’ll begin this with a question: Is there a better dish to ride shotgun with a hot bowl of soup than a grilled cheese sandwich? In my uneducated, untrained opinion, I say “nope”. Whether you agree or disagree with my assertion that it is the best, I’m sure at the very least we can agree that it’s pretty darn good. And you may ask, is it possible to improve on the concept of ooey, gooey, melted cheese in between two bread slices? Of course it is. You just slap some melt in your mouth, pull apart tender pork belly in there.
The roast pork belly in this recipe is a lot easier than you would think. Rub, roast, and chop. That’s it. Leaving the skin on and roasting at a good time and temperature ensures a crispy, cracklinesque crust on your belly. Then after cooking you simply trim off the meaty part, chop it up, and add a little bit of the fatty crackling part. Chop that up in the meat, and you have your debris.
As far as the type of bread and cheese to use, that’s the best part, you can use whatever you darn well please. Well…most anything. Of course some bread and cheeses work better than others but hey, who I am to tell you how to live your life. If you’re curious however, I used a nice sharp cheddar, and some brioche for my bread. So do enjoy this yummy sandwich, and try it with our Crawfish and Mascarpone Bisque.
Ingredients and Instructions
Roast Pork Belly
- 2 pounds skin on pork belly
Rub
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of Thyme
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine all rub ingredients in a bowl.
On the skin side of pork belly, make cuts in a diamond shaped pattern through the skin. Rub belly all over with seasoning mix. Let sit at room temperature for about fifteen minutes.
Put about two cups of water in the bottom of a roasting pan. Rub the rack of the roasting pan with a little olive oil then put the belly on the rack, skin side up. Put the rack in the pan and then put the whole shebang in the oven.
Cook belly at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 mins, until skin is nice and crispy. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cook belly for another 90 minutes or so until pull-apart tender. Set belly aside to cool while you start your sandwich.
Trim away the fatty part of your belly and chop the meat. Cut and chop up a little of the cracklin skin (the part you just trimmed away) and add that to the meat. Mix it up really well.
Grilled Cheese
The belly should make about four or five sandwiches depending on how much you use.
- Two slices of bread per sandwich
- 4 pieces of cheese sliced thin per sandwich
- 1 teaspoon of butter
- Handful of your belly debris per sandwich
Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet on medium heat.
Place the cheese on both sides of the bread. Add a little pork debris to both slices. Close the sandwich up and pop it in the skillet.
Grill on both sides until bread is golden brown and cheese is melty.
Enjoy with a nice bowl of hot soup, preferably our Crawfish and Mascarpone Bisque.
