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Hickory Smoked Coca Cola Braised Pork Belly

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Reel Crusader Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Hickory Smoked Coca Cola Braised Pork Belly
    Posted: 21 Jun 2015 at 8:30pm
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Alrighty... I have finally got myself a Bradley and as a first effort I thought I'd start by adapting an old BBQ favourite I got from an Aussie chef .  Here's the recipe but I'd like to tap into the expertise and experience on the form for the best-guess smoke/cook time for doing the second cook in the Bradley (and adding smoke) rather than the BBQ.

It's a twice cooked number, so here goes:

First, the Coca Cola Braise cook:
Place pork belly in an ovenproof dish and cover in coca cola. Add 2 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick and maybe some fresh coriander and a sliced green chilli.  Place in a moderate oven (say 180C) for 1.5 hours.  Cool and drain.

Now the second cook.  Make up the BBQ sauce:
1 cup brown (or muscavado or demerara) sugar
1 cup malt vinegar
1 cup t sauce
1 tblsp chilli flakes
a cinnamon stick
 - put in saucepan and bring to simmer to dissolve sugar and continue till quite thick, then add:
100ml rum
1-2 tblsp (or more) horseradish

Smear over the pork belly, then (original recipe) BBQ till the sauce caramelises.

Now what I'm keen to do is transfer this into the Bradley to add a smoke dimension to the dish. 

I'm thinking maybe a hickory smoke (other suggestions welcome) but my question is how long to run the smoke and cook stages for (presume smoke first then finish off with the cook to caramelise the BBQ sauce) and what temp is recommended to achieve this.  

The second cook is more about adding bark than cooking so am thinking about doing some of the first stage in the Bradley somehow.... maybe a slightly shorter cocacola braise bath (that coke step is kinda critical to the end flavour - and I think it has to braise rather than just marinate to work properly) and then a long slow Bradley smoke/low heat (e.g. Kezza's ribs approach - 8 hours at 88c with 3 hours of smoke) ... then still flip it out onto the grill to caramelise if needed (or could I just crank the heat up in the Bradley?)

Thoughts? Any and all advice gratefully received!



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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Bradley NZ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jun 2015 at 11:04am
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Sounds great. I am keen to see how it comes out. The smoke will go into the meat best if done before any other cooking. I would try about 3 hours at 88c with Hickory smoke in the Bradley then carry on with the second cook stage. Let me know how it goie.
Cheers
Keg
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Kezza Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Jun 2015 at 12:32pm
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yeah likewise…..you will want to infuse the smoke flavor before "sealing" the meat at the braising stage I think mate…..maybe just 2-3 hours of smoke depending on thickness without heat at all will do the trick

sounds awesome….the beauty of the Bradley at low temps is you run very little risk of ruining the meats with experimentation.

I used to smoke  plain-jane pork bones in hickory without heat for boil ups and the results were sweet - ended up with a hangi/bacon bone-esque flavor 

Keep us in the loop.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Reel Crusader Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jun 2015 at 11:16am
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Thanks for the advice guys.... a great steer to get off on the right track.

I just put the "naked" pork belly into the Bradley for two hours of hickory at 68  - a bit of a compromise on the temp as I've moved from Auckland to Canterbury and trying to combat the low ambient temp from cold, frosty mornings.  Should be sweet for making some cold-smoked winter salmon from the canals though!

I'll then transfer into a shallow dish with the Coca Cola, star anise & cinnamon and braise in the Bradley for a few hours at 88C (loving that digital temp setting!). Then plan to cool, drain, cover in the BBQ sauce and transfer over to the Baby Weber Q to finish off.   Serve with some stir fried bok choi in soy and a little rice to mop up the juices.

I'll post a couple of photos etc once done..... assuming all goes to plan.  

Had a wee learning curve with the first run of the smoker...it heated up ok and got smoking then dumped all the biscuits into the water bowl and flashed an "E" error.  I think I pushed the Wood>>> button a few times when perhaps it only needs one push to get things going?  Anyway, all working just fine now.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Bradley NZ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jun 2015 at 3:09pm
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If you get an "E" message again give me a call and I will try and sort it out. 021420244
Cheers
Keg
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Kezza Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jun 2015 at 11:08am
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How'd it come out RC?…sounds like you know your way around the "kitchen"….looking forward to your adventures!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Reel Crusader Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jun 2015 at 7:12pm
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Well, the time in the Bradley certainly had the desired effect of adding that layer of hickory smoke to the dish.  Certainly work a crack.  Here's a few pics... excuse the side on angle but it's my first go at loading photos....

Started with this:



And after a couple of hours in the Bradley it looked like this:


Time for a wee bath!


Which gets you to here:


Then baste up and onto the grill....


All turned out pretty good.  The only thing I'd do different is add a bit of salt in there somewhere to balance the sweetness from the coke ( I hate having to shake it on at the end!).  Maybe just a rub with SnP before popping into the smoker (with maybe a few crushed fennel seeds or some juniper berries)... or perhaps even a wee salt cure?

Thanks for the tips re smoking and a special mention to Mr Bradley for getting a new element down to me in time to produce some Pulled Pork on my wife's birthday yesterday! While the Bradley is a truely awesome piece of kit the back up service is, in a word, LEGENDARY!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Telecaster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Jun 2015 at 8:43pm
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That looks awesome. Now I'm hungry again and I only just ate!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Steps Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2015 at 10:38am
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Did the skin go crispy?
If not, what if it was removed at the start...everything cooked  soaked etc as above but side by side....the skin crisped up and placed back on just before serving???
Or removed at the end and crisped up at the end?
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Reel Crusader Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Jun 2015 at 4:54pm
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It didn't this time but that sure is the way to go.  I like your suggestions Step and it's a good recipe to muck about with... give it a whirl and let us know how it goes.

I usually do this in the kitchen and so do the last step under the grill and with lots of salt over the skin (who wants sloppy arteries anyway!), which gets that nice crispy, bubbly skin ( I sometime's do as you suggest and peel it off to do this so I can crank up the heat on it without scorching the meat).

I'm still learning how to use the new (to me) Bradley and adapting the recipe over to the outdoor kitchen environment and this is a great forum to get advice for heading off on the right track.  Sure saves wasting good food with bad trial and error but I guess I'll just have to keep cooking it up till I get it right, dammit! LOL


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Bradley NZ Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 29 Jun 2015 at 8:43am
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Glad to hear the element arrived in time. That looks great and I will be giving it a go this weekend. Happy Birthday to the wife.
Keg
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