Bacon Incubator

During the past week I signed me and M up for an inaugural food event.

http://baconcamp.org/

We signed up to present dishes based on bacon to the event. While the event is all about bacon, I decided to bring it one step back, to the cut of meat that bacon is derived from. Pork belly.

Not sure how this happened, but in the process of registering myself into the event, I signed us both up. I also put us in submitting a dish each.

We used this weekend as a dry run on our respective recipes. M choose something orthodox, a Nagasaki-style braised pork belly dish. Tried and true. I flirted with an Italian influenced roast pork belly; garlic, olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and thyme. A little more risky.

Dinner turned into porkfest. A crispy pork belly with crackling skin, very strong and aggressive in terms of flavor and texture. Afterwards, a pork belly braised in a broth of soy sauce and leeks, super soft, and very subtle in taste and texture. The one common denominator in both cases, the luxurious flavor of pork fat.

My dish came from a different pig and a different section of the belly. Thinner and tougher skin. More stronger flavored meat. Very salty -- too much sea salt. M's was more understated -- slightly sweet and aromatic from the use of leeks.

Our pork dishes probably reflected our respective personalities; subtle and refined versus aggressive and intense.

We'll see how it goes next week.