This has been a strange winter here in the mountains. Not much snow. Lots of sun. And when the clouds look like they are about to unleash snow or rain, nothing happens. And not that I am complaining. I love the sun and the mild temps. As long as I have groomers to ride at Park City, I am happy.

But the issue is, we need the snow. We need the snow to fill our reservoirs, provide moisture to the forests and fields, make sure that summer is not too hard on the wild life. Not to mention makes me think that March and April may bring loads of inches of precipitation and the mud will be incredible.

With this recipe, the crux is the balance between healthfulness and taste. I am currently exploring the Ketogenic diet. Or as I prefer, Keto lifestyle. It’s hard to get the nutritional pyramid out of your head, or my mother’s voice telling me to eat more fruit. The veggie part, no problem for me. Bring on the veggies!

This recipe is delish. Sexy, silky and virtually hard to stop eating. And if you have any leftovers, cut in thin slices and put on a romaine lettuce salad with parmesan cheese and avocado. Or, if you are not keto, put it warm from the oven with the sauce on top of a parmesan-laden polenta. Nirvana!

CRISPY PORK BELLY WITH ASIAN SAUCE
Note: this recipe requires marinating the meat for 4-24 hours

INGREDIENTS:
2 lb. skinless pork belly
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
5 scallions, sliced diagonally. Use the white and bright green parts
2 T minced garlic
1 T Hoisin sauce
1 T sesame oil

Here We Go:
Marinade:
Combine the soy sauce, scallions, rice wine vinegar, garlic, Hoisin sauce and sesame oil in a gallon zip lock bag. Zip shut and squish around till combined. Add the pork belly to the bag. Close, and put the kit and caboodle in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours. Max I would recommend is 24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Put the Pork Belly, fatty side up in a cast iron pan. Reserve the marinade. Set your kitchen timer for 30 minutes and put the pork belly in the oven. Alternatively, you could line a baking dish with tin foil.

When the kitchen timer goes off, adjust the temperature to 275 degrees F. Reset your timer to 1 hour. Remember pork is done when it reaches 145F internally. You may want to check the meat at 45 minutes. Just make sure the top is crispy and smells heavenly.

Remove the meat to a plate and lightly cover with tin foil-it should rest for 15 minutes. Take the reserved marinade, and add into cast iron pan. Scrape the tasty bits into the marinade. Set the stove to medium-enough to bring the sauce to a simmer, and reduce to consistency where it coats a spoon.

Slice the pork belly across the grain. Spoon the sauce over the top. As you can see, I served it with a simple salad of sliced cucumbers, thinly sliced onion and halved grape tomatoes tossed with a little bit of salt and a good dose of rice wine vinegar.

Enjoy!
Terri