But I had a whole bunch of pork belly to cook up. And this lovely recipe from the BBC for Bourbon-Glazed Pork Belly Chunks. It's British, I'm American. I had to adore it unquestioningly. It's what Americans do! The British have never made mistakes!!
So I went to my beloved 7-Eleven and bought the smallest bottle of Jim Beam they had. And I baked my pork in bourbon. And I made a bourbon-honey-ketchup glaze. And then I continued to bake my pork in bourbon and covered in the bourbon-honey-ketchup glaze. And I thought, "I'm going to be so pissed off if this ruins my delicious pork belly."
Then the timer went off for the final time. I took the pork out of the oven. I set up a little dish of sour cream because the Brits said so.
It looks beautiful. But we all know the Brits can be quite deceptive. You could also ask Native Americans.
First, I decided to try the pork belly on its own. I loved it. In fact, I wish I had more than the five pieces right there! The bourbon was almost drowned out by the honey and soy sauce. Combined with the ketchup, it tasted like a sweet barbecue sauce.
Barbecue flavors are not something I expect from the people who sell Tangy Cheese and Cool Original Doritos. And barbecue flavors are not usually something I enjoy. But with the sweetness of the honey (and the fact that bourbon is sweeter than my true nemesis whiskey), it was a very soft barbecue taste.
Then, I thought, "Well, the BBC said I should eat it with sour cream." So I tried it with sour cream. Even more delicious! The sour notes of the cream combined in perfect harmony with the somewhat sweet bourbon glaze to make a ying-yang of absolute tastiness in my mouth!
I just need to remember to hold off making this recipe again until my un-air-conditioned kitchen isn't 80 degrees. This is a recipe for a cooler night.
