Red Wine Pork Belly Stew

Start by adding your vegetable oil and pork belly, fat side down to a cold pan and then cooking until the fat is crispy Ensure to season generously with salt and black pepper If your pork belly comes with the skin, remove before placing in the pan, and place the removed skin next to the pork belly and cook alongside to release the fat and add more flavor

While the pork fat renders you can cut dice your vegetables into 1 inch x 1 inch cubes

Once the fat has rendered and is crispy, remove the pork belly (and skin) from the pan and leave to rest for 10 minutes while you continue cooking If you added skin to the pan, it can now be removed and discarded

With the pork belly removed, add the onion to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes

While the onion cooks, dice the garlic, when the onion is done move it to one side and add the garlic to the pan and cook for around 30 seconds or until fragrant

Once the garlic has cooked, mix it into the onion and then add the other root vegetables to the pan, mixing to combine and cooking for a few minutes while stirring infrequently

With the vegetables slightly softened, add the flour dried herbs, and spices, then cook out the flour and allow the herbs and spices to bloom

While blooming and cooking out, cut the pork belly into 1 inch x 1 inch cubes and add to the pan and reserve any accumulated juices

Add the stock cubes to the pan and stir into the rest of the ingredients

Stir in the red wine, paying close attention to the stock cubes to help with disolving, as if you were making a roux and allow the alcohol to cook off

Add the reserved juices to the pan

Now fill the pan with water until everything is just covered I like to pour the water over the plate where the juices accumulated

Add the Worcestershire Sauce and stir

Cook on low-medium for 1 hour, stirring every 15 – 20 minutes until vegetables offer no resistance when pierced with a knife

And salt and pepper to taste