Anita Lo’s Pork Belly Buns Are the Ideal Dish for Easy Spring Grilling
There’s no need to babysit this meat while it roasts.
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Warmer weather is finally upon us, and it certainly feels like the right time to break out your grill again. However, with summer Fridays still a way off, finding hours to spend tending to your grill is just not possible right now. Instead of opting for quick-cooking burgers or steak, Anita Lo’s Roasted Pork Belly Buns are proof you can get a head start on grilling – no matter how much time you have (or don’t have) on your hands.
What makes the dish ideal for the early spring season is that with a bit of prep work (that you can even do the night before), all you have to do to cook the pork belly to perfection is slide it on a rotisserie spit and as Anita explains, “Forget about it for three and a half or four hours.”
To prep the uncured pork belly, simply rub with oil, and season with salt, pepper and Chinese five spice powder. Roll it up into a tight cylinder, and tie with butcher’s twine. Then it’s all set for the grill! After about four hours, you’ll be left with crispy skin (that you can hear crack as you undo the twine) and succulent, melt-in-your-mouth, confit-like meat.
As the roasted meat rests, get store-bought lotus leaf buns steaming on the stove for five to ten minutes. Once they’re heated through, spread hoisin sauce inside the baos, add sliced cucumbers, julienned scallion and finally, a juicy slice of pork belly to complete the meal.
The dish is so low maintenance you could easily make it a few hours ahead of a weeknight, or on a lazy Sunday afternoon. And since you don’t have to tend much to the meat, you’ll be able to get it roasting, and head back inside if it’s too cold – or enjoy the sunshine if it’s in fact a beautiful spring day.
And if you don’t have a grill or rotisserie kit? No problem. Anita’s recipe also works in the oven with a roasting pan.
To see it come together for yourself, check out Anita’s class on the Food Network Kitchen app!
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