Crispy Pork Belly
2 lb. skin-on pork belly
sea salt
Creole seasoning
vegetable oil
Preparing the pork belly is crucial for maximum crispiness. Pat dry your pork belly with paper towels. With a very sharp knife and cut lines across the pork skin about 1/2" apart. You want to cut through the skin and but barely cut through the fat underneath. Rub the skin with about a tablespoon of salt. Sit your pork belly on a baking tray and chill in the fridge uncovered for at least 2 hours but overnight would be even better.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Pat dry the pork skin with paper towels. Rub the skin with a little oil and sprinkle with a little Creole seasoning. Place the pork belly skin side down in a roasting dish. Top with parchment paper and place an oven-proof weight on top (like a cast iron pan or a heavy casserole dish). Roast the pork belly for 1 hour. Then remove the weight and baking paper and turn pork belly over so it is skin-side up. Roast for another 10 minutes.
Slice pork and serve with a slaw or salad.
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
Cut the bacon slices lengthwise, creating narrow strips and wrap them in a pinstripe pattern around the asparagus. You want the edges of the bacon strip to overlap as little as possible which is what you want for extra crispiness.
Instead of a regular baking sheet, use a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet. Doing this actually helps the bacon get crispier.
Flip the asparagus halfway through baking. This will encourage more even cooking, so that all sides get evenly crispy and doesn't burn.
At the end, place the baking sheet under the broiler for a couple of minutes to get the bacon even crispier.
Sweet and Savory Bacon Snacks
36 buttery crackers
12 strips of bacon
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Line two rimmed cookie sheets with aluminum foil.
Arrange crackers on the prepared cookie sheets in a single layer. Place a piece of bacon on top of each cracker, then put about a teaspoon of brown sugar on top of the bacon.
Bake in the preheated oven until bacon is browned and crackers and bacon are glazed, about 45 minutes. Drain on paper towels before serving.
