Cycle 15 - Item 115 29 (Mon) April 2024 Gold Mountain Pork Belly with Mashed Potatoes & Buttered Peas 4.0 by me at home -Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea- with the Family One of my signature dishes (see generally 2.226…
In an early experiment with oven-roasted Gold Mountain Pork Belly, which was designed to be roasted in a kettle grill over live coals, I had noted: "In terms of taste ... the only thing lacking was the trace of smokiness resulting from live coals. Maybe a dash of liquid smoke would do the trick?" (see 4.096 Oven-Roasted Gold Mountain Pork Belly). At the time, probably even today, liquid smoke wasn't available in Korea.
Turns out that the thermometers are pointless, as the meat is cooked way beyond the upper limits of target internal temperature for pork.
A couple years later, while living in the Philippines, I encountered a bottle of Wright's Liquid Smoke and bought it, recalling that note about oven-roasting the dish. But then we moved to a house, equipped with a kettle grill, where I cooked Gold Mountain Pork Belly over live coals, so I didn't need liquid smoke and forgot about the bottle. The only time that the dish was roasted in the oven, it had been intended for the grill, but I got delayed at work and instructed W to use the oven, and she ended up burning the crust, so it came out smoky anyway (see 10.317 Oven-Roasted Gold Mountain Pork Belly). The bottle was one of a few food products that I packed from our pantry when we left the Philippines in 2020. At lost last, more than a decade after advising myself to add a dash of liquid smoke to oven-roasted Gold Mountain Pork Belly, I did so.
While Wright's website states that their liquid smoke products have a shelf life of 48 months, various internet sources suggest that liquid smoke itself won't really expire if stored properly. My bottle had never been opened, and was kept in the back of pantry while in Manila, and in the fridge since our return to Korea. It smelled fine.
The expiration date has mostly rubbed off, but appears to be 2020, which would align with the family's move to Manila in 2016.
Whereas the recipe starts with a dry rub, the liquid smoke was added later as a baste, mixed with olive oil. Hesitant to overpower the flavor, I'd only used a few drops, so it didn't really make much of a difference in the end - maybe a few more drops next time.
For me, the buttered peas made the meal.
In any case, the Gold Mountain Pork Belly turned out great. Upon first bite, DJ was already worried that there wouldn't be enough meat.
They were scraping the plate for every last bit.
After dinner, we watched Scent of a Woman, currently my 17th favorite movie of all time.
"John" Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey (4.0): "If you know him as well as I do."
Jack Daniel's was the first whiskey that I ordered in a bar. It was in a lounge at San Francisco International Airport, while I was waiting to board a flight to Korea, sometime during college, at summer or winter break. I distinctly remember the server, an older woman with blonde hair, placing the glass on the table and saying "Cheers!" I felt so grown up.
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