By Robert Legget, Executive Chef, Cuba Libre
Coming from many exciting restaurant destinations and now currently employed at Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar as the Executive Chef, I have become very intrigued with the American Gastro Pub movement and its cuisine, always rushing out to taste and sample every tavern that hails from this classification. This untamed “wild west” of a genre excites me; it is the new frontier of local cuisine. This excitement combined with my love of not only drinking beer, but also home brewing, causes me to spend most of what little spare time I have focusing on cooking with beer. I mean, really cooking with beer. Sorry wine...your days are numbered.
Pulling influence from the many talented chefs and restaurateurs that I have worked with, as well as the lessons from my brewing mentor Barry “Home Brew” Mulharon, I have successfully morphed cooking with beer into what I like to call Gastro-Brew Cuisine. For example, hop schedules in brewing are the same practice I use for spice and herb additions (and dry hopping) in both sauce & soup preparations. Such as, steeping dried chilies in wort for a unique bitterness in stouts and lagers or using hops and their IBUs to balance flavorings to complete a dish. Whether cooking in a sauce or a quick beer emulsion to finish a plate with bubbly flavor and mouth feel, it’s a wonderfully under-utilized concept! Beer simply is the most versatile ingredient to compliment any dish in both cooking and consumption.
The following recipe is a reflection of that versatility. The three primary ingredients are pork belly, octopus and beer. The beers are used repeatedly throughout this preparation in unique ways. So please, make this for yourself as soon as possible or take it to a party and watch as new friends surround you and enjoy the wonders of pork belly and beer. Keep an eye open for my upcoming book on the topic and become a fan of Robert Legget on Facebook.
Starting with the Basic Beer Brine for 2.5# Pork Belly (preferably Berkshire)
36oz Dunkel Lager (3 beers)
28oz of water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup lite brown sugar
Combine the ingredients in a pot over low heat until salt and sugar dissipate. Chill to 40 degrees and cover your pork belly enough that it floats. Place a small plate or any light weight, non reactive kitchen item on top of the pork to keep submerged, but not touching the bottom. 24 hour Brine, turn over the belly after the first 12 hours. You can brine up to 3 days, which is best, continuing to turn the belly every 12 hours. While you are brining, cook your octopus;
Beer Poaching Liquid for 2# Baby Octopus (use 26/40 count octopus)
(3) 12oz Sly Fox Pils
12 oz water
¼ cup Sambal chili paste
2 Stalk Lemongrass, pulverized with the back of your knife
1 lemon slice
1 orange slice
1 lime slice
5 crushed garlic cloves, peeled
3 shallots, thin sliced
¼ cup sliced fresh ginger, peeled
Salt to taste
Note: both octopus and pork bellies are readily available at the Asian Markets on Washington Avenue
Combine all of the ingredients in a non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes to give the ingredients time to steep together. Add your baby octopus, cook until tender, approximately 10 – 15 minutes. Check frequently.
Remove the octopus from the pot, then shock in ice water to chill immediately. Remove the octopus from the ice & marinate in ¼ cup extra virgin oil, 4 paper thin sliced garlic cloves, 1 tbsp paprika and 1 tbsp chili flakes. Toss thoroughly and refrigerate in a Ziploc bag. This is best when done a day in advance.
When you are ready to braise the belly, place the belly in a non reactive roasting pan. Pour over enough Sly Fox Dunkel Lager to make it float, and then some more. Cover with foil, braise in the oven at 300 for 3.5 hours. A fork should penetrate with no effort. Remove and let cool in its liquid over night.
The next day, remove the belly from the liquid and discard any solidified fat. What remains should be approximately a quart of unbelievable pork flavored beer juice. This will be the base for the glaze.
2 ancho chilies
2 guajillo chilies
1 qt reserved pork juice
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 oz diced green pepper
4 oz diced red pepper
¾ cup dice white onion
2 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp molasses
½ cup cider vinegar
1 Sly Fox Pilsner
1 tbsp Dijon
1 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
3 tbsp sweet Thai chili sauce
2 cups lite brown sugar
In a small pot, bring your pork juice to a boil. As you are doing this, toast the deseeded chilies in a hot pan with a little oil until the skins begin to change color. Remove them from the heat and place the chilies in a bowl, pour the hot pork juice over the chilies and cover tight with plastic wrap for 30 minutes. As your chilies are steeping, make your glaze.
In hot oil over a medium heat, sauté your garlic and onion until cooked-but not browned. Then add your peppers and ginger. Continue for 5 minutes till tender. Add your beer, molasses, cider vinegar, Worcestershire, Thai chili sauce, Dijon and brown sugar. Reduce this mix over medium heat until it becomes the consistency of molasses-a nice thick glaze. While this is reducing, pour your steeped chilies with the liquid into a blender. Blend on high until it is a smooth paste, and then pour into your glaze. Continue to simmer for 15 more minutes. Set aside.
Slice the pork belly like super thick bacon, about ¾ inch. Then cut the slices again the same size to make rectangles. Take a 6” bamboo skewer and push through the portioned belly meat. Place one whole octopus on the end of the skewer in contact with the belly. In a hot pan, preferably non stick or well seasoned, sauté you pork bellies. When browned on all sides, add some glaze, just enough to coat the bellies and octopus, and serve. I enjoy serving them with toasted crushed macadamia nuts and toasted sesame.
You are now the life of the party,
Cheers.