Cured Pork Belly With Lentils
Pork belly with lentils is a typical French bistro dish. In principal, it is a mixture of different cuts of pork, usually salt-cured, cooked slowly until "confit" and meltingly tender, served with lentils cooked in stock.
This dish takes a good while to prepare, but it's a real treat! It reheats very well, tasting better each time, so do make plenty in one go.
This dish takes a good while to prepare, but it's a real treat! It reheats very well, tasting better each time, so do make plenty in one go.
104 K 4.0/5 (42 reviews)
3 hours 20 min.
Average
10 people
13 IngredientsLast modified on: November 15th 2015
For 10 people, you will need:
- 1
1 onion - 2
2 carrots - 3
1 garlic clove - 4
1 bouquet garni - 5
500 g belly (streaky) bacon - 6
1 kg 500 g pork shoulder - 7
1 Morteau sausage - 8
1 kg 500 g knuckle of pork - 9
500 g green lentils - 10
3 tablespoons lard - 11
2 glasses dry white wine - 12
salt - 13
pepper - Total weight: 5,125 grams
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 20 min.
Cooking: 3 hours
All in all: 3 hours 20 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 5 min.
Prepare the flavourings for the stock:
chop 1 onion, peel 2 carrots and slice into rounds, lightly crush 1 garlic clove.
chop 1 onion, peel 2 carrots and slice into rounds, lightly crush 1 garlic clove.
Stage 2 - 5 min.
For the meat, choose fully cured or lightly salted cuts of pork. The ones you see here are: 500 g belly (streaky) bacon, 1 kg 500 g pork shoulder, 1 Morteau sausage, 1 kg 500 g knuckle of pork.
Lightly salted meat only needs to be rinsed. More heavily salted meat should be soaked for 2 hours in cold water, with the water changed twice during that time.
The sausage can be used as it is.
Lightly salted meat only needs to be rinsed. More heavily salted meat should be soaked for 2 hours in cold water, with the water changed twice during that time.
The sausage can be used as it is.
Stage 3 - 2 min.
Put into a large cooking pot: all the meat, onion, carrots, garlic, bouquet garni and a little salt and pepper. Cover with cold water.
Stage 4 - 2 hours
Bring to the boil on high heat, skim off the froth that forms, then leave to cook gently for 2 to 3 hours.
Stage 5
After this, when you take the meat out, you will see that it has become a melt-in-the-mouth "confit".
Stage 6 - 5 min.
Stage 7 - 2 min.
Rinse 500 g green lentils under cold running water in a strainer.
Stage 8 - 5 min.
Take out a good mugful of the meat stock and save for later. Discard the bouquet garni and the garlic, rescue the carrots and set them to one side, then bring the stock back to the boil.
Stage 9 - 20 min.
Tip in the lentils and leave to cook until they are just tender, but still fairly firm (they will finish cooking later with the meat).
Drain the lentils, but save the stock they were cooked in.
Drain the lentils, but save the stock they were cooked in.
Stage 10 - 5 min.
In the big cooking pot, melt 3 tablespoons lard on high heat.
Fry the meat for 2 or 3 minutes until browned all over.
Pour in 2 glasses dry white wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan.
Fry the meat for 2 or 3 minutes until browned all over.
Pour in 2 glasses dry white wine and deglaze the bottom of the pan.
Stage 11 - 30 min.
Add the lentils, the mugful of stock you saved earlier, and the carrots, then mix.
Cover and leave to simmer gently for about 30 minutes (or longer), but take care not to let the pork belly dry out or stick. If necessary, moisten with a ladleful or more of stock.
Cover and leave to simmer gently for about 30 minutes (or longer), but take care not to let the pork belly dry out or stick. If necessary, moisten with a ladleful or more of stock.
Stage 12
Serve piping hot.
Remarks
If you don't have any Morteau sausage, use any other sausage you like.
There are some, me among them, who like to serve pork belly with a trickle of vinegar.
As I say above, the pork is is even better when reheated but, unfortunately, the lentils turn mushy when overcooked and become less and less presentable.
Keep the remaining stock, with it you can make a tasty 'day after pork belly' soup.
There are some, me among them, who like to serve pork belly with a trickle of vinegar.
As I say above, the pork is is even better when reheated but, unfortunately, the lentils turn mushy when overcooked and become less and less presentable.
Keep the remaining stock, with it you can make a tasty 'day after pork belly' soup.
And to drink?
A red wine from Burdondy for example, possibly a Ladoix "Sur les vris" from Christian Perrin, it is just perfect.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, covered with plastic film.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 740 RDI=280 % | 270 RDI=30 % | 1,140 RDI=170 % | 14,290 RDI=720 % | 59,830 RDI: 720 % |
| Per 100 g | 10 RDI=6 % | 5 RDI=0 % | 20 RDI=3 % | 280 RDI=10 % | 1,170 RDI: 10 % |
| Per person | 70 RDI=30 % | 30 RDI=3 % | 110 RDI=20 % | 1,430 RDI=70 % | 5,980 RDI: 70 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 10 people : £25.50
- Per person : £2.55
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Pork shoulder
Like these other recipes: Express sauerkraut, ... See them all 1
Green lentils
Like these other recipes: Lentil and cold-meat salad, Cajun-style lentil salad, Sausage and lentils "en cocotte", Warm lentil salad, ... See them all 4
Belly (streaky) bacon
Like these other recipes: Boulangère potatoes, Cassoulet, Fried egg in bread, Rillons de Tours, Sausagemeat, ... See them all 31
Other recipes you may also like
Pizza dough
Pizza dough is a lind of bread dough with olive oil, which make it softer. This is the same dough that I use for pizzas and flammenkuches, this is no doubt incorrect, but it's very good nevertheless. At home we used to make pizza dough quite thick, and flammenkuche as thin as possible.September 22th 2024513 K4.6 1 hour 60 min.
Salmon with sorrel
Salmon with sorrel is the perfect mix with tender salmon and the slight acidity of sorrel.October 13th 2010311 K 15 1 hour 25 min.
Marinated tuna with herbs
Here is a very simple recipe, preferably for a barbecue or plancha, but could be made in the kitchen. As for any summer-barbecue-backyard recipe, all proportons can be varied according to taste.February 21th 2011274 K4.3 1 hour 25 min.
Hamburgers
Hamburgers don't have to be the greasy flabby things you find in fast-food outlets, well-made they can be excellent. It's a very convivial recipe as everything goes on the table, and everyone assembles their own burger according to personal taste.December 6th 2015425 K4.8 35 min.
Lille style chicken
Chicken breasts and mushrooms, cooked separately, then mixed with a tasty cream sauce before serving. It's a dish with a "cuisiné" taste, but which unfortunately is becoming increasingly rare in restaurants.May 10th 2023365 K3.8 50 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-07-06)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.