BBQ Pork Belly

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If you’ve been a member of the WECO fam for a while, you probably are reminiscing about summer days spent chowing down on WECO BBQ right about now… an impending snowstorm, sub-freezing temperatures… I love New England winters as much as anyone else- don’t get me wrong. But we always want what we can’t have. So, we decided to bring back the flavors and memories of summer with tonight’s dinner, with our usual twist! Instead of pulled pork, I wanted to do braised and roasted chunks of pork belly. So we did. And it’s awesome. Pork belly is an amazing cut- it shrinks down to basically nothing once it’s braised and roasted, but that concentration of flavor and the rendered fat makes every bite a juicy treat. Paired up with bacon mac and cheese, sweet potatoes with brown butter and maple syrup, and cheddar jalapeno cornbread… If you close your eyes, you can picture hot, sunny days… Get in there!

For the pork belly, mac and cheese, and sweet potatoes:

Tonight’s dinner is super easy to reheat. Everything will take roughly the same time to heat up in the oven, so just get it all situated on a large baking sheet or casserole dish, and preheat the oven to 400. Top the mac and cheese with some garlic panko, and pop the whole tray in the oven! Let it bake for 5-10 minutes, until everything is nice and toasty, and the breadcrumbs have turned golden brown. Easy. If you’re impatient, you can give things a stir every minute or two, or even just broil it all in a single layer. Whatever route you take, get it hot! It will warm your body and soul from the inside out 🙂

For the cornbread:

Griddle it up! Nothing beats hot griddled cornbread. Slather some butter on there and hit it in a cast iron or nonstick pan. Hot cornbread is your friend. I recommend slicing it in half the long way and making a mac and cheese-cornbread sandwich. If you have any hot sauce at home, go crazy.

If you ordered a big-ass salad:

It’s back, by popular demand. No goat cheese this time, but to be honest I am not crazy about goat cheese, and I had one two weeks ago without it, and I liked it even better. Sometimes less is more. Toss this in a bowl with the carrot ginger chia dressing, season with some salt and pepper, and enjoy!