Macaroni and Cheese with Crispy Pork Belly

Ingredients:

Buttermilk Macaroni and Cheese with Crispy Pork Belly

Tangy mac an cheese with salty, crispy pork belly and a little acidic tomato to lighten it up. This was good. I learned something: pork belly needs a LOT of salt to taste like anything. So don't be shy with the sodium.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup diced pork belly
1/3 cup tomatoes, skinned and chopped

8 oz. macaroni or other shape (I used shells), cooked
3 TB butter
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup whole milk
2 TB all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/8 tsp ground cayenne red pepper
1.5 cups Medium Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup - Aged White Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Several cubes pork belly, 1" square

Step 1:

In a small skillet, heavily salt diced pork belly, and cook until crisp. Set on paper towels to drain and set aside. Get pasta boiling (sorry, no pics of pasta...), under cook by 1 minute. If pasta is done before sauce, toss with a little oil to prevent sticking.

Step 2:

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter in buttermilk. Whisk in flour and spices, and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add the cheeses, stirring until melted.

Step 3:

dd pasta to sauce, and add in tomatoes and diced pork belly. Put into greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan, and top with panko. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes, or until golden brown on top (broil if necessary).

Step 4:

While mac is baking, heavily salt the pork belly pieces, and cook until crispy in the same skillet you used earlier.

Step 5:

Plate some macaroni and cheese and top with pork belly. Eat. Yum.