GUINNESS-BRAISED PORK BELLY TACOS

Friyay! (again, where does the weeks go?). It´s such a great day today. The sun is shining and yeah, life is good.

This weekend I have nothing on my agenda – for the first time in forever. I will be cooking for my extra-family tonight, the same tacos as this recipe, and that is pretty much it. Good to get some rest before heading off to Stockholm and Gastro Nord next week. Another trade show, and yes, I´m just as exited, if not more than with the Gothenburg Wine and Deli.

The whole Guinness-thing is not my forte if I´m honest. I’ve been dragged up the top of stairs in the Guinness-brewey (it’s like a hundred of them) both once and twice just to be horrified that they only serve Guinness up there. The last time someone felt sorry for me and gave me a soda instead, haha. I just can’t handle the richness of it all, it somehow grows in my mouth and takes over.

But I love to incorporate it in cooking. There is something in there with all the richness that just complements pork so nicely. It gives more body to the fatty cuts and this tacos packs on quite a lot of flavor. It starts with the rich pork, then the pickle gives some sourness, the vegetables freshness and it ends with the sweet BBQ-sauce. YUM!

You will need this;
1 kg pork belly, skin on
2 carrots
1 celery-stalk
1 yellow onion
2 bay leaves
1 pint of Guinness
(around) 1 pint of vegetable/beef stock
2 tbs of chili powder

Do this;
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
Score the skin of the pork belly 1 cm apart horizontally two times, creating a diamond-shaped pattern. Make sure to only score the skin and fat. Salt the skin generously and leave it in the fridge for 30 min to an hour. Pat it dry with kitchen paper and sprinkle with chili-powder.

Roughly chop the vegetables and place into a roasting tin. Place the pork belly on top. Pour in the Guinness and top it off with vegetable stock until half of the pork belly is covered. Add in the bay leaf and place in the oven and cook for about 2-3 hours until the meat is tender.

Take out the roasting tin of the oven, and turn the oven up to 225 degrees. Remove the skin from the pork belly and place it on a baking tray covered with baking paper. Cover the meat with aluminium foil and let it rest while the skin is getting crispy in the oven. This should take about 10-15 min.

Take the skin out of the oven and cut it into small chunks, dice the pork belly and serve with whatever you fancy. I served mine with baby spinach, bbq-sauce, tomatoes, beetroot, pickled watermelon-rind and cucumber.