Asado Pork Belly and Fideau
Pork belly strips hung over the embers while a Catalan noodle dish cooks in the same fire below. Chicken, chorizo, saffron stock and a crust worth fighting over. STEPHANE DELOURME, host of the Le Creuset Fire & Food Quarter, hangs the belly from the crossbar of the Metartal asado grill and cooks the pan in Le Creuset.
Ingredients
SERVES 2, WITH HUNG BELLY FOR 4 TO 6 ALONGSIDE
Allergens: cereals containing gluten (fideua noodles), egg (aioli). Celery & Sulphites
THE HUNG BELLY
1kg pork belly, skin on, from Edenmoor, cut lengthways into strips about 5cm wide
2 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
1 tsp black pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed
4 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
Salmuera baste: 500ml water, 2 tbsp sea salt, 2 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves, a sprig of thyme and a strip of lemon peel, boiled and cooled
250g boneless chicken thighs, from Edenmoor, diced into big chunks
150g of the hung belly, diced, skin and all
100g cooking chorizo, sliced
180g fideuà noodles (or spaghetti broken into 3cm pieces)
½ large onion, finely diced
1 small red pepper, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 ripe tomato, grated
½ tbsp tomato paste
650ml good chicken stock
Pinch of saffron
1 tsp smoked paprika
Olive oil, parsley, lemon wedges and garlic aioli, to finish
Method
1. The day before, score the skin of each strip lightly, rub 1 tablespoon of the salt over it and leave uncovered in the fridge overnight. Dry skin is what blisters.
2. Rub the meat side with the garlic, fennel, coriander, pepper and thyme, and the last of the salt over the skin. Hook each strip and hang it from the Metartal’s crossbar, skin facing the fire, over embers you can hold a hand at for four or five seconds.
3. Hang for 2 to 2½ hours, basting with the salmuera every 20 minutes and turning once or twice. For the last 15 minutes rake more embers beneath so the skin crisps. Rest, then dice 150g for the pan and keep the rest warm to slice.
4. Set a Le Creuset skillet over the coals with a little oil. Brown the chicken, the diced belly and the chorizo; remove. Soften the onion and pepper for 8 to 10 minutes, add the garlic, then the grated tomato and paste, and cook down until jammy. Stir in the paprika.
5. Toast the noodles in the pan for 2 to 3 minutes. Return the meat, pour in the hot saffron stock and stop stirring. 8 minutes over medium embers, then 3 over fierce ones for the crispy base, the socarrat. No lid on an asado, so lay foil loosely over if the top dries first.
6. Rest under a towel for 5 minutes. Serve from the pan with lemon, aioli and slices of the hung belly, eaten far too close to the fire.
“Don’t stir once the stock goes in. The noodles cook evenly and build a crust underneath.” Stephane Delourme
More Recipes Ideas
Method
1. The day before, score the skin of each strip lightly, rub 1 tablespoon of the salt over it and leave uncovered in the fridge overnight. Dry skin is what blisters.
2. Rub the meat side with the garlic, fennel, coriander, pepper and thyme, and the last of the salt over the skin. Hook each strip and hang it from the Metartal’s crossbar, skin facing the fire, over embers you can hold a hand at for four or five seconds.
3. Hang for 2 to 2½ hours, basting with the salmuera every 20 minutes and turning once or twice. For the last 15 minutes rake more embers beneath so the skin crisps. Rest, then dice 150g for the pan and keep the rest warm to slice.
4. Set a Le Creuset skillet over the coals with a little oil. Brown the chicken, the diced belly and the chorizo; remove. Soften the onion and pepper for 8 to 10 minutes, add the garlic, then the grated tomato and paste, and cook down until jammy. Stir in the paprika.
5. Toast the noodles in the pan for 2 to 3 minutes. Return the meat, pour in the hot saffron stock and stop stirring. 8 minutes over medium embers, then 3 over fierce ones for the crispy base, the socarrat. No lid on an asado, so lay foil loosely over if the top dries first.
6. Rest under a towel for 5 minutes. Serve from the pan with lemon, aioli and slices of the hung belly, eaten far too close to the fire.
“Don’t stir once the stock goes in. The noodles cook evenly and build a crust underneath.” Stephane Delourme
Credits: Stephane Delourme; Metartal asado grill; pork belly and chicken from Edenmoor; cooked in Le Creuset.
