Pork Belly and Grits

Oh pork belly, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee in fried rice, I love thee in tacos, I love thee straight out of the pan (although please don’t tell anyone) and now I love thee over grits, served up with an egg for breakfast.

I actually had no idea I was such a fan of pork belly until I had pork belly tacos at a restaurant one day. So incredibly delicious. And to boot the tacos were accompanied by crackling… freshly made and still hot when it arrived at the table. I had always thought I hated crackling. Oh, how wrong I was.

And now that pork belly has muscled its way into my life, it has become one of those things on a menu that I just can’t pass up. Which is how I found myself at another restaurant, the Hominy Grill in Charleston, ordering grits, something I don’t generally care for, simply because they came with pork belly. And I’m telling you, if you’ve ever wanted to hear the angels sing, this might just be the dish that will do it for you.

Hominy Grill sells the grits in two pound bags so of course I purchased one, and armed with my trusty Trader Joe’s pork belly, I re-created the recipe at home. Not quite as good as Hominy’s where the pork belly is slow smoked, but still a delicious breakfast (or dinner) for the weekend.

Here’s the recipe for the grits which was included in the bag I bought from the restaurant. They are stone ground grits which I assume can be bought at a variety of places, grits not being my specialty.

Cheese Grits

• 4-1/2 C. Water
• 1 C. stone ground grits
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3/4 C. grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 C. grated parmesan cheese
• 3 T. butter
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp. tabasco

1. In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring water to a boil.
2. Whisk in the grits and salt, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the grits are thickened, about 35-40 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and add the cheeses, butter, pepper and tabasco, adding more to adjust seasoning as desired.

While the grits are bubbling away, throw the pork belly whole into a pan and sear it on high heat. As it browns use a spatula to break it down into large chunks and then continue searing until it’s nice and crispy. When the grits and pork belly are cooked to perfection, all that’s left is to fry up the eggs and then you’re all set to enjoy this dish sent from the heavens.

This is George. He too worships at the altar of pork belly and grits.