Root Beer-Glazed Pork Belly Tacos
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Recipe by:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Pork Belly
  • 1 (2.5 to 3-pound) pork belly
  • 2 cups apple juice
  • 2 cups root beer soda
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ cup sugarcane molasses
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons water
Tacos
  • 1 cup thinly sliced Napa cabbage
  • 2 tablespoons julienned carrots
  • 2 tablespoons thinly diced celery
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 flour tortillas
  • ½ cup thinly sliced bread and butter pickles
  • ½ cup diced green onion tops
Instructions
Pork Belly
  1. With a sharp knife, score the top fat layer of the pork belly in a criss-cross pattern making sure to stop before penetrating the meat.
  2. In an ovenproof dish, prepare the marinade by adding the apple juice, root beer soda, soy, Worcestershire, and molasses. While stirring, add the ginger, sugar, salt, and pepper. Submerge the belly fat-side-up in the marinade, add the rosemary sprigs, cover with aluminum foil and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
  4. Remove the dish with the pork belly from the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. Pour off most of the marinade into a saucepan leaving only enough in the dish to immerse the belly about ½ -inch deep. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Cook for 3 hours checking every 30 minutes to make sure there is still enough cooking liquid to prevent burning. Remove from the oven and pour off any remaining cooking liquid into the saucepan.
  5. While the pork belly is cooling, make the glaze. Over medium-high heat, bring the saucepan containing 1 cup of the remaining marinade/cooking liquid to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer.
  6. In a small bowl, add the cornstarch and water and stir together until the cornstarch dissolves to make a slurry. Pour it into the pot and turn up the heat to high. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat and stir as it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn off the heat and keep at room temperature until ready to use.
  7. Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
  8. Brush the glaze generously on the pork belly in the ovenproof dish and making sure to penetrate between the layers of fat. Place in the oven fat-side-up. Keep a close eye on the meat and watch as the top fat layer begins to bronze and lacquer with the root beer glaze, about 10 minutes. Be careful not to let it burn.
  9. Remove from the oven and brush once again with the glaze. Move the belly to a cutting board and slice into bite-sized portions.
Tacos
  1. For the slaw and sauce, add the cabbage, carrots, and celery to a mixing bowl. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, lemon juice, and mustard. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of the sauce to the slaw and mix to combine. Pour the remaining sauce into a serving bowl.
  2. For the tacos, move the tortillas to a microwaveable plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave on high until steaming hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Add a generous portion of slaw to the bottom of the taco and top with several pieces of pork belly. Drizzle over some of the remaining root beer glaze and the white sauce. Garnish with sliced pickles and green onion tops. Serve with ice-cold beer.
Notes
Scoring the skin is important: The slices allow the marinade to penetrate flavor into the meat, and it helps the fat to render and the skin to crisp. Don't skip this step. I like the sassafras flavor of root beer, but I've also made this using dark coffee for an equally deep, rich flavor.
Recipe by Acadiana Table at https://www.acadianatable.com/?p=16086