Pork infused collards? Yep, that just happened. This luscious pork belly is seared; then cooked low and slow using a grill extender so the braised collard greens below can soak up every drop of the pork’s liquid gold. Then it’s carved into bite-size cubes, crisped up in a hot pan and topped with spicy simmered rhubarb compote.

Score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern, season both sides with salt, pepper and brown sugar. Sear sides of the pork on the grill, starting with the fat side down.

Add mirepoix plus garlic to the cast iron, season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of bacon cure dry rub. Sweat the veggies for about 6-7 minutes, stir in the collard greens.

Slow cook pork belly over collard greens using a grill extender, place the pork above the cast iron pan containing the collards to catch the drippings. Close lid and cook for 35-45 minutes, stirring greens and rotating pork occasionally.

No better way to enjoy a meal than on location where the ingredients come from and with the rancher himself.

CSA SHARE #3

Lettuce
Spinach
Kale
Collards
Chard
Mustard Greens + Flowers
Rhubarb

RECIPES COOKED WITH THIS WEEKS SHARE

FROM THE FIELD

With the early season temperatures remaining low the fields are a bit slow to take shape. On the other hand a farm workshare carries a healthy armful of freshly harvested rhubarb that has been growing like crazy.

In episode 3 of Just Picked, Cooking Through a CSA we chef it up on the summer solstice at Robinson Family Farm & Ranch, in Bedford Wyoming. Marion Robinson’s specialty is Pig, so we did pork belly two ways, as well as pork infused, braised collard greens. Robert Schumway, a farm work share describes the dedication it takes to garden in the western climate and the benefits of learning from someone knowledgable like the Robinson’s.

crispy pork belly, pork infused braised collard greens, and spicy rhubarb compote

Author: Foodterra
Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: serves 4 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Scale

Ingredients

2 lb piece pork belly
8–12 collard greens, stems removed, rough chop into 1 inch chunks
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon Quick Cure Bacon Rub, (optional) we had some left over
1 tablespoon brown sugar, for seasoning pork belly
Mustard green flowers, for a garnish, if you have them

For the Mirepoix:

2 medium carrots, medium chop
1 stalk celery, medium chop
1 Vidalia onion, medium chop
2 cloves garlic, smashed and small chop

For the Rhubarb Compote

1 stalk rhubarb, split in half lengthwise, chopped into half moons on the bias
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
½ a shallot, thin half moon slices
1 Fresno chile, stemmed, seeded and small chop
1 tablespoon Concord grape vinegar, substitute with apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses, substitute with maple syrup or honey
juice of ½ a lemon
olive oil, as needed
2–3 tablespoon brown sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Preheat grill and cast iron pan to medium-high. Add mirepoix plus garlic to the cast iron, season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of bacon cure dry rub. Sweat the veggies for about 6-7 minutes, stir in the collard greens.
Sear the pork belly: Score the fat cap in a crosshatch pattern, season both sides with salt, pepper and brown sugar. Sear sides of the pork on the grill, starting with the fat side down, 6-7 minutes. If you get flare ups, don’t panic just remove pork from the heat.
Slow cook pork belly over collards: Using a grill extender, place the pork above the cast iron pan containing the collards to catch the drippings. Close lid and cook for 35-45 minutes, stirring greens and rotating pork occasionally.
Spicy Rhubarb Compote: Preheat a pan to medium-high. Toss rhubarb in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and brown sugar. Coat the hot pan with olive oil followed by the rhubarb and sauté for a few minutes then add ginger and shallots. Sauté for another 4-5 minutes, or until rhubarb has softened and has a bit of color. Stir in the Concord grape vinegar, pomegranate molasses, Fresno chile and lemon juice, keep warm.
Crisp up pork: Remove the cooked collards from the cast iron, set aside and keep warm. Return the cast iron back to medium-high heat. Cut the cooked pork belly into roughly 1 inch cubes, season with salt and pepper and crisp up all sides in the cast iron, about 5 minutes.
Plate the dish: Start with a bed of the collard greens, arrange the crispy pork bites on top and around the plate, followed by a touch of salt. Finish with the rhubarb sauce and garnish with mustard green flowers if you have them.

Method: grill, braise

Keywords: pork belly, rhubarb, collard greens

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