During my very first interview to become a professional cook, the chef brought over a menu for me to look at. As this was a new German Hofbrau type restaurant, I first saw the usual suspects; sausages, schnitzels, and spaetzle. Then I started to see items with a twist, like Skirt Steak Rouladen and Braised Duck with Red Cabbage Bread Pudding Then it hit me: PORK BELLY REUBEN; braised pork belly, sauerkraut, and Havarti cheese on grilled rye bread.
I love great sandwiches and one of the best is the Reuben, corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, slathered with Thousand Island dressing, served on grilled rye bread. But this, the Pork Belly Reuben, sounded unbelievably delicious, I now knew this young, first time chef interviewing me was talented, I really wanted to cook with him. He hired me, and so it started, my adventure, following my passion Cooking On The Line.
A couple of days before the Hofbrau opened, it was time to prep the components for the Pork Belly Reuben, I could hardly wait. The major cooking activities are slow braising the belly, and preparing the sauerkraut, also by braising.
Pork Bellies are not easily found in your local supermarket, but are almost always available at butchers, ethnic markets, and the large produce world type places, which sell meat. Pork bellies vary in size but are usually in the 10 to 13 pound range. They come with or without a thick layer of skin. Although you can easily remove the skin and make cracklings from it, I prefer to just get the belly without the skin. The butcher will usually cut it down if you want a smaller piece of the belly. You will get about 2 to 3 servings per pound.
To prepare the belly, start by seasoning the bellies with salt, pepper and dry mustard, rubbing in the seasonings very well. Next put the belly into a roasting pan or pot to braise them. I had always thought and braised items with the liquid coming about 1/3 of the way up the protein. The Chef at the Hofbrau taught me for this recipe to braise the belly fully submerged in water, with * onions, carrots, celery, garlic cloves, and crushed tomatoes, in a 325-degree oven for five hours. Cover the pan or pot with aluminum foil or a lid.
* Three each; onions, carrots, celery, garlic cloves, (all rough chopped), and 1 cup of crushed tomatoes(canned works well), 2 tablespoons of spicy mustard or 1 tablespoon of dry mustard, 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons black pepper.
While the belly is braising make the Sauerkraut. Drain 1 lb of purchased kraut and rinse with cold water. Julienne half an onion and saute' in a hot pot, with a pinch of salt until the onion just starts getting color. Add the kraut to the onion and stir a couple of times to incorporate, then add a teaspoon of Kosher salt and a couple twist of black pepper. Cover the kraut with white wine, when the wine begins to boil, cover the pot, and turn down the heat to low, or place it in a 300 degree oven. Cook for about an hour. Check it a couple of times to make sure there is always a little liquid in the pot. Taste and reseason if necessary then remove it from the heat. You can either keep it warm if making the Reuben's immediately, or cool it down for later use. The Kraut will keep at least a couple of weeks due to it's high acid content.
After 5 hours, pull the belly from the oven, and remove the cover. You can either take the pork immediately out of the container and begin separating the meat from the layers of fat while it's still hot, or put the whole container of belly and braising liquid in the fridge and allow it to cool down, This could take hours so I usually do this step overnight. Many chefs feel one should always have braised items cool in their braising liquid for a juicier product. I have not found a difference in this particular dish, whether cooled down or not. When I became Chef of the Hofbrau, I began cooling it down in the cooler, it was a lot easier to remove the fat which congealed on top of the liquid, remember this is Pork Belly and it has a lot of fat, but fat usually equals flavor. After removing the fat, pour the braising liquid through a strainer into a pot and reduce it by at least half. Now you can separate the belly meat from the fat layers. You will notice there is both light and dark meat. Both taste great. The Pork belly meat will stay good for at least 4 days in a cold fridge,it also freezes very well.
* Three each; onions, carrots, celery, garlic cloves, (all rough chopped), and 1 cup of crushed tomatoes(canned works well), 2 tablespoons of spicy mustard or 1 tablespoon of dry mustard, 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons black pepper.
While the belly is braising make the Sauerkraut. Drain 1 lb of purchased kraut and rinse with cold water. Julienne half an onion and saute' in a hot pot, with a pinch of salt until the onion just starts getting color. Add the kraut to the onion and stir a couple of times to incorporate, then add a teaspoon of Kosher salt and a couple twist of black pepper. Cover the kraut with white wine, when the wine begins to boil, cover the pot, and turn down the heat to low, or place it in a 300 degree oven. Cook for about an hour. Check it a couple of times to make sure there is always a little liquid in the pot. Taste and reseason if necessary then remove it from the heat. You can either keep it warm if making the Reuben's immediately, or cool it down for later use. The Kraut will keep at least a couple of weeks due to it's high acid content.
After 5 hours, pull the belly from the oven, and remove the cover. You can either take the pork immediately out of the container and begin separating the meat from the layers of fat while it's still hot, or put the whole container of belly and braising liquid in the fridge and allow it to cool down, This could take hours so I usually do this step overnight. Many chefs feel one should always have braised items cool in their braising liquid for a juicier product. I have not found a difference in this particular dish, whether cooled down or not. When I became Chef of the Hofbrau, I began cooling it down in the cooler, it was a lot easier to remove the fat which congealed on top of the liquid, remember this is Pork Belly and it has a lot of fat, but fat usually equals flavor. After removing the fat, pour the braising liquid through a strainer into a pot and reduce it by at least half. Now you can separate the belly meat from the fat layers. You will notice there is both light and dark meat. Both taste great. The Pork belly meat will stay good for at least 4 days in a cold fridge,it also freezes very well.
To prepare the sandwich, pour enough braising liquid in a hot saute' pan to just about cover the meat, and add the belly and a pinch of Kosher salt, I usually go with about 4-6 oz, roughly a handful.
Butter both sides of 2 pieces of Rye Bread for each sandwich, place them in a hot pan or on a griddle, when the first side starts to brown, flip and add a thick slice of Havarti cheese, preferably with caraway, to each slice.
Put enough Sauerkraut on top of one slice of bread to cover the cheese.
When the pork belly is hot, remove it from the braise (tongs work best) and place it on top of the Sauerkraut, top with the other slice of bread. You may want to grill it a little longer if the Havarti is not melted, or you want to toast the rye more.
Remove the sandwich from the heat and place it on a cutting board, slice in half. I would serve the sandwich with a horseradish whipped cream or a spicy Mustard like Dusseldorf or Dijon.
Now you are ready to bite into something that certainly will be amongst the best things you ever ate, and quite possibly the Next Best Sandwich in the World.
Quick Tips: To julienne onions, cut the stem and root ends from the onion. Peel off the skin. Cut the onion in half through the root and stem ends. Place the cut side down and make 1/8" slices. My first chef taught me to use a knife at a 45 degree angle, so you are cutting across your body. Use the pinch grip to hold your knife: Place your thumb and forefinger on the blade just in front of the bolster (where the blade meets the handle), pinching the blade.
If you can't find Caraway Havarti Cheese, simply toast Caraway seeds in a hot pan, shaking the pan often so the Caraway does not burn. Toasting spices is the norm in the restaurant kitchen, it releases the spices oils and amps up the flavor. At one restaurant I cooked at, I even had to toast the black and white peppercorns. You can also add the toasted Caraway to the Sauerkraut a couple of minutes before you pull it from the heat.
An electric knife is a great tool to slice this sandwich, or any delicate/messy foods. I've used it for; slicing cheese, bread, giant pretzels, carving roast meats, turkey, chicken, and delicate pastries. While staging at NoMI, a four star restaurant, they used an electric knife to slice the special of the day; Beef Wellington.
Butter both sides of 2 pieces of Rye Bread for each sandwich, place them in a hot pan or on a griddle, when the first side starts to brown, flip and add a thick slice of Havarti cheese, preferably with caraway, to each slice.
Put enough Sauerkraut on top of one slice of bread to cover the cheese.
When the pork belly is hot, remove it from the braise (tongs work best) and place it on top of the Sauerkraut, top with the other slice of bread. You may want to grill it a little longer if the Havarti is not melted, or you want to toast the rye more.
Remove the sandwich from the heat and place it on a cutting board, slice in half. I would serve the sandwich with a horseradish whipped cream or a spicy Mustard like Dusseldorf or Dijon.
Now you are ready to bite into something that certainly will be amongst the best things you ever ate, and quite possibly the Next Best Sandwich in the World.
Quick Tips: To julienne onions, cut the stem and root ends from the onion. Peel off the skin. Cut the onion in half through the root and stem ends. Place the cut side down and make 1/8" slices. My first chef taught me to use a knife at a 45 degree angle, so you are cutting across your body. Use the pinch grip to hold your knife: Place your thumb and forefinger on the blade just in front of the bolster (where the blade meets the handle), pinching the blade.
If you can't find Caraway Havarti Cheese, simply toast Caraway seeds in a hot pan, shaking the pan often so the Caraway does not burn. Toasting spices is the norm in the restaurant kitchen, it releases the spices oils and amps up the flavor. At one restaurant I cooked at, I even had to toast the black and white peppercorns. You can also add the toasted Caraway to the Sauerkraut a couple of minutes before you pull it from the heat.
An electric knife is a great tool to slice this sandwich, or any delicate/messy foods. I've used it for; slicing cheese, bread, giant pretzels, carving roast meats, turkey, chicken, and delicate pastries. While staging at NoMI, a four star restaurant, they used an electric knife to slice the special of the day; Beef Wellington.
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