Kansas city pork belly

Recipe

To make the BBQ sauce, preheat the oven to 140C. Spread the tomatoes out on a toasting tray and drizzle over a little olive oil. Roast them for at least 90 minutes. Remove the tomatoes and increase the oven temperature to 200C. In the meantime, place the roasted tomatoes into a blender and blitz until smooth. Set 325g aside. Wrap the garlic bulb in foil and place into the hot oven for 30 min. When done, squeeze the bulb and set 40g of the puree aside.

Light the HUB BBQ and once the coals are ready, add the soaked maple chips to the coals. Grill the onion wedges until charred. Remove from the heat and roughly chop. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan set over moderate heat and add the onions, cooking until caramelised. Set 150g aside.

Heat a little grapeseed oil in a pan and add the ground ginger, smoked paprika, salt and English mustard. Cook for one minute, then add the grilled, smoked onions and the garlic puree. Cook for 2-3 minutes, and add the 325g reserved roasted tomato mixture, the beef stock, tomato ketchup, cider vinegar, muscovado sugar, Worcestershire sauce, honey and molasses. Mix well to combine and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Use a hand blender to blitz until smooth. Pass through a fine mesh sieve and set aside.

To cook the belly strips, set the HUB BBQ up for indirect cooking. Season the belly strips with salt and lay them on the grill that is not directly above the hot coals, allowing more control over the cooking of the meat. Cook until the internal temperature reads 65C when probed and hold this temperature for 25 minutes. Start to baste the BBQ sauce on the belly strips after 15 minutes have passed, turning the strips regularly until thick and sticky.

In the meantime, prepare the crumb by placing grapeseed oil into a deep, frying pan filled no higher than three-quarters full. Heat the oil to 180C and fry the breadcrumbs in the hot oil for a few seconds until golden. Drain well and spread on a tray lined with kitchen paper to absorb excess oil. Once cooked, combine with the sesame seeds and crispy onions. Set aside. Blanch the broccolini in a pan of boiling salted, boiling water for 2 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon and refresh immediately in an iced bath. Once cooled, remove and drain on a tray lined with kitchen paper. Heat the olive oil in in a frying pan over moderate heat and lightly fry the sliced garlic. Remove the pan from the heart and set aside. Grill the broccolini over hot coals until charred and place in the pan with the fried garlic. Season with salt and the lemon zest and juice.

When the belly strips are done, lay them on the tray with the crumb and roll to coat evenly. Cut each strip into 4 pieces and serve with the chargrilled broccolini.