Oh My God Pork Belly Sandwich

It all began in Chicago.

I was stumbling down a street lined with warehouses, weary from lack of lunch when, off in the distance, I spotted a blue sign. It read “Publican Quality Meats.” “I know that name!’ I exclaimed. I recognized it from this list of best new cheap food in Chicago. I sprinted to storefront and then burst through the door. Scanning the menu quickly, I saw the words “pork belly” and shouted “that! I want that!” because I love the meat of oinkers.

The second the sandwich hit my mouth, I gasped: “I must make something this marvelous.”

Once I got home, I scoured the internet for pork belly recipes. Every single one had a multitude of steps and overnight resting. I didn’t want any of that. I wanted immediate gratification and simplicity.

I decided that all of the recipe writers were wrong. I decided (without ever making pork belly) that I could make pork belly in under 3 hours. I abandoned Google.

I figured I braise the belly to get it super tender. First, I seared the meat and then put it in a my beautiful cast iron pot with onions, garlic, beer, and beef broth. I brought it to a boil and then let it simmer for two hours.

“Belly, here comes some belly,” I said as I pulled out a piece and cut off a slice. It was tender, packed with flavor, and… jiggly. Jiggly in a jello-y way. The immense amount of fat on the belly made the bite feel… fattening. The Chicago sandwich wasn’t jiggly.

I stared at the meat nervously, worried that I’d wasted the wonderful piece of belly.

“No!” I screamed defiantly, “I will not give up.” I cranked the oven up to 500 degrees, scored the fat, put the belly fat-side-up in a baking dish, added some of the braising liquid, and threw the dish into the oven.

20 minutes later, I was looking at beautiful, crispy, crackling fat. I sliced off a piece of belly, fat and all. I brought it to my lips. I chewed. And it was still too fatty. That’s when the dramatic music began playing (in my head). As the drums reached the crescendo I thought: “I MUST SMUSH IT.”

I put the belly on a plate and put the bottom of another plate on top of it. Then, using twine, I tied the two plates together tightly. I jerked open the freezer door and put in my belly-squishing contraption. 15 minutes later, I pulled out the very cold plates and moved the contraption into the fridge.

3 hours later (Yes, it took a bit longer than “immediate gratification.” Clearly, I also gave up on simplicity.), I had perfectly crispy, perfectly squished pieces of pork belly.

I spread spicy aji sauce and sour cream onto crunchy Ciabatta bread. Then I added a thin layer of tangy Granny Smith apples, baby spinach, and thinly sliced belly. It was oh my god.

Ingredients:

(Makes two sandwiches)

• Delicious, fresh, crunchy bread
• Aji sauce (just a little)
• Sour cream (just a little)
•  1/4 of a Granny Smith apple
• 1/2 cup of baby spinach
• 1/2 pound of pork belly
• 1 bottle of beer
• About 2 cups of beef stock
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• Salt and pepper

Steps:

Pork Belly

1. Over high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot, sear the pork belly on all four sides (takes about 2 minutes a side). 
2. Remove the pork belly.
3. Lower the heat to medium
4. Add the onions, garlic, and brown sugar.
5. Saute for 4 or 5 minutes.
6. Season with salt and pepper.
7. Pour on the beer. Bring to a boil and cook until the beer reduces by half.
8. Add the pork belly back into the pot.
9. Add beef stock until the belly is covered (how much stock will depend on the size of your pot).
10. Bring the liquid to a simmer and then put the lid on.
11. Let the belly braise for two hours, checking every now and then to make sure it isn’t boiling.
12. Preheat the oven to 500.
13. Pull the belly out. Score the fat, making sure that you do not cut too deeply.
14. Put the belly onto a baking dish and drizzle some of the braising liquid over it.
15. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
16. Put the belly on a plate and top with another plate (or a different flat, heavy object). Tie it down if that’s necessary to put sufficient weight onto the belly.
17. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.
18. Take out of the freezer and put it in the fridge for at least three hours.

Sandwich

1. Slice the belly into slices about 1 inch thick. 
2. Slice the apple into slices about 1/4 of an inch thick.
3. Spread a layer of aji sauce on two slices of bread and a layer of sour cream on the other two slices of bread.
4. Put a layer of apples down on the two aji bread slices.
5. Top the apples with the belly.
6. Top the belly with a layer of baby spinach.
7. Top that with the sour cream bread slices.
8. Take a bite.
9. Say: “oh my god” and enjoy!