Bacon Wrapped Moroccan Spiced Pork Belly
Recipe created by Rusty Johnson of Rusty's BBQ Facebook: Rusty's BBQ Instagram/Twitter: rustys_bbq
- 4 lbs Johnston’s Pork Belly cut into 2”-3” cubes (about 16-20 cubes)
- 16-20 Johnston’s Thick-Cut Bacon Slices
Moroccan Spice Rub
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 ½ tbsp white sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp pepper
Saffron Garlic Aioli
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- pinch of saffron
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- lemon juice and zest of half a lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Bacon Harissa Red Pepper Sauce
- ½ lb Johnston’s Bacon diced
- 1 medium white onion finely diced
- 2 whole roasted red peppers from a Jar diced
- 2 tbsp harissa chili paste
- ½ tbsp brown sugar
Combine the Moroccan spice rub ingredients; set aside.
Preheat oven to 250ºF.
Rub each pork belly cube liberally with Moroccan spice rub.
Cook for 2-3 hours at 250ºF or until fork tender.
Remove the pork belly and wrap in thick-cut bacon.
Continue to cook for another hour until bacon is crisp or cooked through.
Assemble bacon wrapped pork belly on plate and top with saffron garlic aioli and bacon harrisa red pepper sauce (see below).
Saffron Garlic Aioli
Add saffron, vinegar, and honey to a pan on low heat. Cook for 2 minutes to get the saffron color and flavour out; Careful not to burn the honey.
Add the saffron/honey/vinegar mixture, garlic, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the Mayonnaise.
Mix all together and let sit for a couple hours in the fridge. The longer it sits, the more the yellow flavour comes out. You will have to re-stir the aioli after it sits to properly mix in the saffron.
Bacon Harissa Red Pepper Sauce
Cook bacon until browned; Remove bacon, but keep the drippings.
Add onion and cook onion until browned.
Add sugar and cook for another minute.
Add Harissa chili paste, red peppers, and bacon and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
The sauce may be spicy at first, but will mellow out as it cools off. As well, the other items in the burger will reduce the spiciness.