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Sunday, May 13, 2012

Pork Belly Confit and a Pork Masterclass at Restaurant Atelier


I went to a Pork Masterclass at Restaurant Atelier in Glebe and was so inspired. 
It was the first time I had been in a professional kitchen and the chef Darren is an incredible bloke, he instantly made us feel welcome and at home.



One of the dishes he demonstrated for us was pork belly confit. I have never cooked confit before but Darren made it seem so achievable, and so with Mothers Day approaching I had a reason to cook something special.


The pork belly is placed in a roasting dish with fat, covered with foil and then cooked on low in the oven for 5 hours.


It is brought to room temperature then wrapped in cling film and left in the fridge overnight with weight on top.


The belly is then cut into neat slices and the skin crisped up in a pan.


It was perfect.
The skin was beautifully crisp, and the meat melt in your mouth.
I am still astonished that I was able to create such a dish.



What else did the class show me? Well we ate loads of porky samples!


And how to cook a crispy pork belly.


We got to see every stage of the pork belly confit process.


And of course taste its deliciousness.


You would not believe the pork 'bubble', achieved by drying out the skin and deep frying.


In case all that (plus more) wasn't enough, you then sit down and enjoy an amazing meal together.


The pork shoulder was roasted for 12 hours, the meat falling apart and the skin perfectly crackled.


It was served with a gorgeous sauce (Darren also showed us how to create) and wonderful sides of freshly smoked pine mushrooms, fresh salad and chickpea ragout.


Want to join a #porkfest masterclass too? Well on the last sunday of each month you can.
Just contact the lovely Karen (via twitter - if you are not a twitterer I'm happy to contact Karen for you) but be quick because I am positive places are snapped up!

31 comments:

  1. You were lucky to go to a class like this. The pork belly looks delicious.

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  2. Exactly the kind of thing I would like to do! How fun. I've never heard of pork belly confit. In Louisiana (deep So. U.S.), we grew up with pork rinds...called 'chitlins'. They have them in all kinds of flavors. Hope you get to take another class!

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  3. WOW, your confit pork belly looks AMAZING! I agree, the class was great...I cooked the roast Pork Belly at home last night and it was PERFECT! Wonder what other tricks Chef Darren has up his sleeves for us to learn?

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  4. How exciting to go to such a great class! Pork belly its my favorite cut of meat ever, yummo!

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  5. OMG I need to go to one of these. Porktastic :D

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  6. Hi Muppy,hope you had a great mother's day..The piggy looks truly mouth watering..Taking a cooking class sounds so refreshing..Have a great week!

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  7. It all looks amazing! I hope to make it to one of these classes.

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  8. It must have been really exciting!The dish looks mouthwatering!Have a lovely week,dear!

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  9. Wow! The pork belly looks really, really delicious! What a great class!
    Happy Mother's Day!

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  10. He is such a lovely chef and he has such a way with pork! :D

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  11. The course looks fantastic... would love to do something similar. Getting pork belly perfect is not easy... thanks for sharing your photos. I'm jealous now:)

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  12. I'm not a big fan of pork belly but saw lots of pork belly cooking at the recent MasterChef.

    What a special way to celebrate Mother's Day! Learning to cook such a beautiful sounds really fun to me.

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  13. What a fabulous experience!! I would need a push like this neat class to make something as exotic sounding as pork confit :) Beautifully done~

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  14. I kind of love how the pork looks like it's wearing a crackling hat :) Well done!

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  15. Amazing!! That pork belly looks like something out of a magazine. And I love the idea of smoked mushrooms!

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  16. gorgeous gorgeous pork belly! I recently cooked it for the very first time (braised in the oven for 4 hours and then deep fried) and am hooked!!

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  17. that would be my dinner.

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  18. How delicious. Happy Mother's Day!

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  19. Hope you had a wonderful Mothers Day Muppy! This class looks like somethig I would totally embrace!

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  20. What a great class. I love all of these dishes. I would love to try that pork confit. I have bought pork belly before but it never sits as high as that, it's always much flatter like the crispy skinned pork belly shown. I would also like to roast a pork shoulder for 12 hours to have the meat just fall from the bone - how delicious xx

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  21. Wow, looks like such a great class! If only I had the time...

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  22. omg i loveee pork bellyyyy !!!

    looks like u had a ball!

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  23. omg i loveee pork bellyyyy !!!

    looks like u had a ball!

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  24. Everything looks amazing Muppy! I never had pork belly before. I want to taste those pork bubbles! Thanks again for making the bread - hope you had a great Mother's Day!

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  25. LOVE PORK BELLY AND CRACKLING!

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  26. Oh wow my mouth is just watering. Pork crackling, what is better :) The masterclass sounds fantastic. Keep well Diane

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  27. wowsers! the pork belly looks so neat and basically all the fat has been cooked off! love it! what a great class

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  28. You had such a great time at this class! Everything looks delicious! It is always a pleasure to be able to cook with a professional!

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  29. HELLOOOOO???? Is there anything better than pork belly? SERIOUSLY. What a great masterclass! And thanks for sharing your experience with us. YUM

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