Got these Pork Bellies from the Westside Market -- need some help...


 
C

Chris Stanek

TVWBB Fan
We took a two week vacay and drove from Florida to Ohio to visit family. We stopped all along the way and did the Bourbon trail in KY and got a lot of interesting BBQ sauces throughout the trip.

In Cleveland we always visit the Westside Market where my wife used to have her bakery stands. If you ever go to Cleveland... make sure you stop there... if you love meat... you'll start sweating the minute you walk through the door.

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There's just vendor after vendor selling meats and more meat. There were no less than a dozen stands selling pork bellies. I got these two... one really big one and one smaller one. I've never done a pork belly because I can't get them here in FL.

What should I do with them? I was thinking of trying the smaller one first... maybe putting it on the rotisserie. I hear everyone raving about PB... so I want to join the fun!

Here's what I got... I put a standard spice jar in the one pic for scale...
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No kidding man... the Westside Market is amazing. They were selling full racks of bison ribs that were 3 feet wide and about a foot and half tall. It was nuts. I had already stuff my cooler with stuff like bread and pastries that you just can't get here. Pretty much anything you want is there from Amish butter to spring lambs, delicate french pastry to full sides of beef and everything in between.

My wife, the annoyed gal in the one pic, had a fairly large bakery right around the corner that she took over from her dad. She used to have 6 of those big stands in the market.

I just want to do something good with those bellies.
 
Chris, you're are certainly going to want to try your hand at bacon, and if really adventurous, pancetta.

Fresh belly can be really fun too. I like to cook it low and slow until meltingly tender and then chill it. Cut it into pieces and its great grilled to a crisp. I've used this in a couple of ways and can give you some recipes.

you also may want to check out Korean samgyeopsal which is a very traditional pork belly recipe.

Let me know if you need recipes or help.

btw, I've been to that market a few times now and its pretty cool. My only knock, was last visit, it seemed like every butcher sold the same cuts. You'd think with 20 butchers, each would try to carve a niche. Sure there was a few lamb/goat guys, but the pork and beef was very boring. The best I could do for pork jowls was have one guy dig some out of his freezer.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by j biesinger:
Chris, you're are certainly going to want to try your hand at bacon, and if really adventurous, pancetta.

Fresh belly can be really fun too. I like to cook it low and slow until meltingly tender and then chill it. Cut it into pieces and its great grilled to a crisp. I've used this in a couple of ways and can give you some recipes.

you also may want to check out Korean samgyeopsal which is a very traditional pork belly recipe.

Let me know if you need recipes or help.

btw, I've been to that market a few times now and its pretty cool. My only knock, was last visit, it seemed like every butcher sold the same cuts. You'd think with 20 butchers, each would try to carve a niche. Sure there was a few lamb/goat guys, but the pork and beef was very boring. The best I could do for pork jowls was have one guy dig some out of his freezer. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I know what you're saying about the market... there were literally a dozen stands selling pork bellies and largely the same stuff overall. The way my wife describes it is that you basically fine someone you like and always go to the same person for the same stuff. For me, just the idea of being able to get such a large variety of meats from so many different places under the same roof just makes me realize how limited things are here in FL.

I'd very much appreciate any recipes. I think the first go around I'd like to do something a little straightforward. I might try bacon, but for now I just want to get up and running with something good. My sister-in-law can ship me whatever I want from there. She's only about 40 minutes away in Mentor.

I think maybe some kind of rotisserie recipe and another low and slow kinda recipe would be a great start. So if you got anything good... feel free to pass it along.
 
If anyone has a favorite vendor here within the west side market or elsewhere for pork butts, ribs, or whatever - please let me know. I'm new to Q and live in Cleveland.
 
Pork belly on the rottisserie is a fantastic dish! It's very easy to make:

Use a sharp knife and cut a chess pattern into the rind, let's say 1/3 of an inch big. It does not matter if you cut half an inch or so deep. Apply salt and pepper, and let it rest in the fridge for three days. Rinse, pat dry, and apply a rub if you want, I usually only use salt and pepper, but the usual rubs can be used. Grill the meat for a couple of hours on the rottiserie, approx 375 degrees F, and dig in. It's very tasty!

How do I know? Look here! http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?37576-In-the-hall-of-the-Arctic-pig&highlight=mountain+pig

My piece of meat is bone- in, but a belly can be made in the same way. Mr. Biesinger has some nice suggestions, as usual. Panchetta is easy to make, and is a must in Spaghetti Carbonara.
 
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