SERVES 5
Coffee lover? Pork lover? We’ve got a Christmas gift for you.
We’ve been working behind-the-scenes with Australian Pork to develop a recipe that aligns two of our greatest loves, pork and coffee. And to make it a little more special, we also engaged Emma Nicholson from Em’s Food For Friends to help us create a masterpiece of a dish. This is what she came up with.
INGREDIENTS
For the Coffee Spiced Rubbed Pork
- 1kg of Australian Pork Belly (hit the link for loads of handy tips and recipes on all things pork)
- Coconut oil for drizzling (vegetable or olive is fine too)
- 1 tbsp of Sea Salt
- 2 spring onions, finely julienned and placed in ice cold water, for garnish
- Lime halves to serve
For the Coffee Rub
- ½ cup of toasted coconut flakes, for garnish
- ¼ cup of Republica Organic Timor Ground Coffee Blend
- ¼ cup of brown sugar
- 2 tbsps of paprika
- 2 tsps each of Cumin, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Sea Salt and Ground Ginger
- 1 tsp of Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp of allspice
- ½ tsp of cinnamon
NOTE: This will make about 1.5 cups of rub that can be stored in a jar in the pantry for use with all other things pork. Perfect on Ribs, Shoulder or Loin
For the Pineapple Salsa
- 1 Small pineapple, skin removed and sliced into 1cm thick rounds
- ½ a red onion, finely sliced top to bottom
- 1 long green chilli, seeds removed and very finely diced
- ½ a cup of mint leaves, finely chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- Sea salt & cracked black pepper
For the Coconut Rice and Beans
- 1 cup of basmati rice
- 1 small brown onion, finely diced
- 1 cup of water
- ¾ cup of coconut milk
- 400gm tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
- Sea salt & cracked pepper
RECIPE
1. To prepare the Coffee Spiced Pork Belly, pat the pork dry with paper towel. Using a sharp knife or stanley knife, grab a baking tray or metal ruler and use the edge to score the pork at 1cm intervals for a nice neat finish.
2. Place the pork on a rack in the sink and pour over 1-2 cups of boiling water. This will allow the skin to separate so that when you put the coffee rub on it will get between the skin as well. Pat the pork dry with paper towel again and place it in a lined baking tray.
3. Sprinkle over the sea salt and place the pork in the fridge, uncovered for four hours. The salt will help to draw any moisture out of the skin for the ultimate crispy crackling.
4. Preheat the oven to 240°C. Remove the pork from the fridge and again, pat it dry with paper towel. Place it on a rack in a baking tray and drizzle over a little coconut oil. Rub the oil into the skin and then sprinkle over two heaped tablespoons of the coffee rub. Use your hands to massage the rub into the pork, in between the score lines and underneath as well until the pork is coated all over.
5. Pour in two cups of water, taking care to not wet the pork and place the pork in the oven for 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes reduce the heat to 180°C for a further 1.5 hours, making sure there is always water in the base of the pan to keep the pork flesh nice and moist.
7. To make my crackling super crispy, I like to place the pan on the lowest shelf of the oven and put the oven on Fan Grill for approximately 5 minutes. You really need to keep a good eye on it at this point as the sugar in the rub can burn. The pork skin will look blackened anyway, from the coffee and sugar in the rub but don’t be alarmed at the colour. What you don’t want is charred, it will make the rub taste bitter. Once the skin is blistered and hard when tapped with a knife (it should only take a few minutes), remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for a good 15 minutes, loosely covered in foil.
8. While the pork is cooking, prepare your salsa. Cook the pineapple rounds on a hot BBQ or griddle pan until lightly charred. Wait until it has cooled (you could even pop it in the fridge for half an hour), cut the pine apple into small cubes. Mix it with the red onion, chilli and chopped mint. Season and dress with fresh lime just before serving.
9. To prepare the coconut rice, place a little oil in the base of a medium sized saucepan. Fry the onion until translucent and then add the rice, stirring to coat the grains before pouring in the water and coconut milk. Stir to prevent the rice sticking to the bottom and bring to a simmer.
10. Once simmering, pop a lid on and reduce the heat to medium and cook for 12 minutes with the lid on. After 12 minutes, turn the heat off and allow the rice to steam with the lid on for five minutes before adding the drained black beans.
11. Stir the beans through the rice with a fork and place on a low heat to warm through. Season with sea salt and pepper just before serving.
12. To plate the dish, use a sharp knife to cut the pork into cubes. I find using the heel of my hand on the back of the knife and pushing down will give you nice neat cuts and not jagged edges. Spoon the coconut rice into a ramekin and invert onto your serving plates. Place the pork belly on the plate (2-3 cubes per person) and spoon the pineapple salsa around the rice. Garnish with spring onion and toasted coconut flakes and serve.
Recipe Reference:
Nicholson, E. 2020. Coffee Spiced Pork Belly with Grilled Pineapple Salsa. [online] Available at: <https://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/>