pork belly Archives - The Wooden Skillet

Ancho Chile Mole Sauce with Cocoa and Cinnamon

As promised, this is my brief follow-up post to the ever-popular Braised Pork Belly post! My mole sauce was something I took a chance on, not knowing if it would fall flat or be amazing. I actually think it was amazing and I have pretty high standards for myself. I wanted it to be spicy, but not the burning-my-mouth-I-need-some-milk spicy. I wanted it to warm you from the inside with an undertone of chocolate, a hint of cinnamon and a base of pork broth. I wanted it to have body. I researched many, many, many mole recipes to find out some of the typical ingredients – wow, some of the classic mole recipes have about a thousand ingredients. Okay, a slight exaggeration on my part, but they do have a lot. I didn’t want it to be overly complicated as I was already making pork belly for the first time and still wanted to be able to focus on that.

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Braised Pork Belly with Mole Sauce, Bok Choy and Cauliflower Mash

Pork Belly. Do I even need to say more than that? Savory, indulgent, buttery pork belly. I was incredibly nervous to take my first crack at this beautiful cut of meat. I have to admit that I have never attempted. But, as part of this wonderful, exploratory food journey I have decided to embark on, I simply went for it. And, as with many things, if you put behind you your fears and simply go for what you want, it is usually worth it. A little dramatic for pork, I know, but applicable nonetheless and I absolutely do not regret making up this recipe. While I plan to continue to improve upon it and see what other versions I can make, I am pretty proud of this dish and hope you enjoy it as well. As many of you may have noticed, pork belly has become a staple on many a restaurant’s menu and every time I see it, I have to order it to see what variations others have chosen – it is always my favorite part of my meal. I am from northern Wisconsin and the first time I tried pork belly I was at the Wild Rice Restaurant in little Bayfield, Wisconsin. If you ever have the chance to go to Bayfield – do it. And while you are there definitely eat at the Wild Rice. You will not be disappointed. I saw pork belly on the menu and knew I had to finally try it – I was not let down. I know it isn’t always on their menu, but if it is – do not hesitate. It was beautifully prepared, exquisitely plated and tasted of buttery richness. I think my next favorite restaurant where I tried pork belly was at The Corner Table, here in Minneapolis. It was served on a bed of chow chow (a Southern relish made, in part, of cabbage and tasted somewhat like sauerkraut), with pickled mustard seeds and some sort of delectable sauce that had just enough heat to compliment the richness of the pork, the sourness of the chow chow and the smoothness of the mustard seeds. It was amazing, to say the least, but more on that in an upcoming post……

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