**From Cheap Cuts to Culinary Masterpieces**

Chefs often get excited about cheap cuts of meat because they can transform them into delicious and impressive dishes with minimal effort. One such example is braised lamb breast, which was featured in our previous recipe. In this article, we will explore two more examples of how to elevate humble cuts of meat into culinary masterpieces: slow-roasted pork belly with fennel and fit-to-grace any table-style roasted lamb.

**Braised Lamb Breast**

The secret to a truly exceptional dish lies not only in the quality of ingredients but also in the technique used to prepare them. Braising is a cooking method that involves cooking meat low and slow, often in liquid, to achieve tender and flavorful results. For this recipe, we started with a few simple ingredients: chili seeds, oregano, lemon, onions, capers, black olives, white wine, tomatoes, lamb breast, salt, and olive oil. We began by sautéing the onions in a pan until they were translucent, then added the chili seeds for an extra boost of flavor. Next, we added the capers to get them exploding with flavor at the bottom of the pan. The black olives followed, bringing their distinctive brininess to the dish. Finally, we added the tomatoes and brought the mixture to a boil before returning it to the oven.

The key to this recipe was not to slice the lamb breast too thinly, as this would allow the flavors to penetrate evenly throughout the meat. Instead, we used a sharp knife to nick the surface of the lamb, creating diamonds-shaped cuts that would eventually become crispy and caramelized in the oven. We rubbed the pork belly with salt to create a crunchy crust on top, which was enhanced by rubbing it gently over the cracks and crevices of the meat. Finally, we added a few whole cloves of garlic and some fennel seeds to intensify the flavor and keep the meat succulent.

The result was nothing short of amazing: tender lamb breast with a rich tomato sauce, crispy skin, and a subtle tang from the lemon. The best part? This dish started with a cheap cut of lamb that was transformed into a culinary masterpiece through careful technique and attention to detail.

**Slow-Roasted Pork Belly with Fennel**

Another example of how to elevate humble cuts of meat is slow-roasting pork belly, which may seem like an intimidating task at first but is actually quite straightforward. The key to this recipe lies in the preparation of the pork belly itself. We began by cutting it into thick slices and scoring the fat layer with a sharp knife to create a network of tiny cracks that would allow the flavors to penetrate evenly throughout the meat.

Next, we rubbed the pork belly with salt and browned it on both sides before adding it to the roasting pan. The addition of fennel seeds was crucial in this recipe, as they added a bright aniseed flavor that complemented the rich pork perfectly. We also added some crushed garlic and a handful of olive oil to intensify the flavors and keep the meat succulent.

To complete the dish, we browned the pork belly on both sides before covering it with fennel seeds and roasting it in the oven at 180 degrees for two and a half hours. The result was nothing short of stunning: tender pork belly with crispy skin and a rich sauce packed with the flavors of fennel, garlic, and olive oil.

The secret to this recipe lay not only in the preparation of the pork belly but also in the use of stock instead of water. By simmering the pork belly under the skin, we were able to achieve tender results without overcooking it. The result was a dish that was both rustic and refined, perfect for serving at any meal.

**From Bistro-Style Roast Lamb to Restaurant-Grade Pork Belly**

Both these recipes demonstrate how chefs can take humble cuts of meat and transform them into culinary masterpieces with minimal effort. Whether it's braising lamb breast or slow-roasting pork belly, the key lies in the technique used to prepare them. By paying attention to detail, using a variety of flavors and ingredients, and cooking low and slow, we were able to achieve results that would make even the most discerning chefs proud.

So next time you're tempted to shy away from cheap cuts of meat, remember that they can be transformed into something truly special with a little bit of creativity and technique. With braised lamb breast and slow-roasted pork belly, we hope to have inspired you to get cooking and experience the joy of culinary magic for yourself.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: entake it easy because it's time for my ultimate slow cooking slow cooking is one of the best weapons in the chef's arsenal not only is it easy it's also an incredible way to transform meat into mouth-wateringly melting dishes mastering the art of slow cooking is something every cook should learn first up my phenomenal slow cooked beef short ribs slow cooking is a brilliant way of getting lots of extra depth and intensity into your dishes the secret is to lock in all those flavors at the start and let the ingredients do their thing as it cooks these are beef short ribs and there's basically five to six bones across there and as the short rib cooks it sticks to that bone the bone implants flavor and the meat just sort of melts cooks slowly gives it that nice level intensity slice alongside the bone straight down you can see that marbling that sort of disappears and disintegrates i'm cooking them in a roasting tray get it on the heat until nice and hot season these short ribs beautifully olive oil in bone on the top we'll start coloring that in it's really important to give the beef short rib a really nice sear if you didn't brown the meat off it goes in the oven and it looks like boiled meat so you really want that nice dark rich coloring just cut the garlic in half slide that down the side that's going to give that beef an amazing flavor to give body to the sauce stir in a heaped teaspoon of tomato puree i'm just hitting the bottom of the pan with that tomato puree and we call it cooking out but smell a puree otherwise it just goes in there raw and it gives this sort of tartness to the braised short ribs red wine in don't use an expensive bottle of red wine there's no need bring the wine up to the boil and reduce it this burns off the alcohol and concentrates the flavor it makes a big difference when you reduce the red wine down by half because it gives that nice dark rich intensity look at my garlic that is just gonna sweeten everything up incredible stock in beef stock perfect chicken stock fine just to about an inch underneath the beef short ribs bring it up to the ball to lock in all that flavor as the beef ribs slow cook cover them so they braise from the bottom and steam from the top into the oven two and a half hours 170 to 180 degrees in she goes the great thing about slow cooking is you do most of the work in advance and then put your feet up five or ten minutes before the beef short ribs come out of the oven start your garnish it's a light cured pancetta i want nice thick lardons nice big thick sticks of crispy bacon these are delicious chestnut mushrooms i'm not going to slice them i'm just going to cut them in half but look at the color on those lardons now all the whites raw fat have disappeared the lardons have shrunk right down and all we've got there now is the proper bacon mushrooms in beautiful so the mushrooms get seasoned from the bacon i'm pan frying these separately to the beef so they remain crisp and have a different texture leave that to cool down now this is like christmas day for me when you unwrap that fall wait you see what's underneath it wow they smell incredible lift and place on the tray beautiful to make a fantastic rich deep sauce press the soft roasted garlic through a sieve into the cooking juices all that nice pureed garlic coming through there because that is going to make the most amazing flavor scrape all of that off the sieve nice then just start sieving all that lovely braising liquor wow in that smells delicious take your sauce and just glaze do them individually they deserve that respect spoon on your bacon and your mushrooms useful be generous with these mushrooms i'm telling you they taste amazing flat leaf parsley all that freshness over those amazing ribs incredible never ever be embarrassed about going to your butcher and asking for cheap cuts because the results are incredible amazing beef braised short ribs with bacon and mushrooms delicious slow braised stuffed lamb breast one of the secrets to slow cooking is to be robust and really get stuck in big bold flavors work really well so don't be precious this is gutsy cooking at its absolute best these are lamb breasts a beautiful cheap cut and it's sort of tucked alongside the rib they've been boned out the skin has been taken off i'm going to roll them stuff them and braise them braising simply means cooking in liquid on a low heat making the meat divinely tender now open them up and give them a really good season season them both sides inside and out really important it doesn't look like a real weighty dense cut of meat but once it's beautifully slow braised it's just like melting lamb it's incredible i'm going to season the breast with some dried oregano put a heat in there some chili flakes lemon zest there's some amazing salted anchovies in there now they almost melt inside the lamb so the balance of flavors work beautifully now pull it down towards you and roll that nice and tightly that's what i'm looking for string i just need to tie them three times one at each end and one in the middle i fell in love with this dish years ago when i first started working in paris because we had all the lamb in from the pyrenees nice thing is they can be done the day before pan on olive oil in get that oil nice and hot lamb in really important to get some nice color on there whilst they're browning slice the onion the lamb's gonna be cooking for two and a half hours so don't slice the onions too thinly otherwise they'll burn garlic and leave whole got a color on them look at that beautiful take them out onions in and garlic straight in that's the secret about slow braising you never change pans why all the goodness is in that one pan a few chili seeds in there oregano nice pinch a little bit of lemon in there i'm gonna do the onions what i did to the lamb next my capers fry them off get them exploding the bottom of the pan they get nice and crispy next my black olives now white wine bring that up to the boil delays in the pan as well i rinse in the bottom of that pan and now the flavour in there is just extraordinary now where that tomatoes puncher those plum tomatoes then simply place the lamb breast back in the pot and remember to taste that's nice lid on into the oven 170 two two and a half hours and forget about it whoa beautiful all that has reduced down to this amazing nice tomato sauce and the lamb has kept its color look at that it's braised beautifully very carefully get your little bits there slice off pull off the little bits of string this is why i get really excited the secret is not to slice it too thinly look at that i can smell the lemon it's hard to believe when you slice through the center there that that is a very cheap cut of meat i'm salivating i love this i mean it's just incredible pick up the tomatoes and the olives and the onions an amazing rich sauce take your lamb sort of just sit it on it looks incredible and that for me is why chefs get so excited with cheap cuts because the end results are incredible delicious breast of lamb with lemon anchovies chili and oregano my next recipe turns what used to be a decidedly unfashionable cut of meat into the star of the dish fit to grace any table slow roasted pork belly with fennel slow roasting works better on fattier tougher and unfashionable cuts whether it's a cheek or even a neck or this amazing pork belly it's a fantastic way to transform cheap cuts into amazing melting perfection take a very sharp knife bring the pork belly towards you so you're over it and you've got all that pressure and weight using the tip of the knife i'm just sort of nicking it and go across the pork belly long strokes with a knife take your time turn it 180. this time what we're doing is just sort of cutting these nice little sort of diamonds but as that starts roasting on top it starts getting nice and crispy take your handfuls of salt and just sort of rub it in bend it over and in all those cracks really helps to get a nice crisp crackling on top roasting tray getting really nice and hot take a hole over fennel to intensify flavor and to keep the meat succulent i'm braising my pork belly with strong vibrant spices and vegetables crush and peel three whole cloves of garlic and add to the fennel olive oil in fennel in i like the nice strong aniseed flavor that goes with that nice rich dense pork fennel seeds delicious star anise in and just a couple of cardamom seeds and wow they're like little bangers like little firecrackers incredible lovely fresh bay leaves get your pork skin side down just sear the top of that fat that locks in all that amazing flavor then i'm going to flip it over and get it nice and crispy and then i want fennel seeds embedded in those little cracks now some white wine a minute that white wine hits that pan you can smell that light fragrance from the fennel allow the wine to bubble away and reduce until the alcohol has burnt off time that the stock now the stock goes in just underneath the skin so it roasts on top all that meat under there will be submerged because what happens in the oven the top goes crispy as anything and the stock reduces and braises at the same time really importantly bring that back up to the ball before it goes in the oven otherwise it will never boil never get up to temperature smells incredible slow roast the pork belly at 180 degrees for two and a half hours look at that you've got that nice crispy skin on top you can see how much of the stock has evaporated put that onto the board it looks stunning to make a delicious rustic sauce with the flavor packed contents of the roasting tray first get rid of the excess fat take a couple of slices of bread it's like a perfect sponge because you just lay that on top and drag it almost like a net and it just absorbs all that fat if you want the perfect fried bread trust me stick that in a frying pan a nice teaspoon of mustard whisk that in and then simply simmer for a few minutes before pouring into a serving jug with your pork belly always use a nice serrated edge knife you can hear that that is amazing incredibly tender that belly of pork is gonna almost melt in your mouth you've got that sweet meat under that crispy belly of pork what an amazing way to cook a very cheap cut of meat youtake it easy because it's time for my ultimate slow cooking slow cooking is one of the best weapons in the chef's arsenal not only is it easy it's also an incredible way to transform meat into mouth-wateringly melting dishes mastering the art of slow cooking is something every cook should learn first up my phenomenal slow cooked beef short ribs slow cooking is a brilliant way of getting lots of extra depth and intensity into your dishes the secret is to lock in all those flavors at the start and let the ingredients do their thing as it cooks these are beef short ribs and there's basically five to six bones across there and as the short rib cooks it sticks to that bone the bone implants flavor and the meat just sort of melts cooks slowly gives it that nice level intensity slice alongside the bone straight down you can see that marbling that sort of disappears and disintegrates i'm cooking them in a roasting tray get it on the heat until nice and hot season these short ribs beautifully olive oil in bone on the top we'll start coloring that in it's really important to give the beef short rib a really nice sear if you didn't brown the meat off it goes in the oven and it looks like boiled meat so you really want that nice dark rich coloring just cut the garlic in half slide that down the side that's going to give that beef an amazing flavor to give body to the sauce stir in a heaped teaspoon of tomato puree i'm just hitting the bottom of the pan with that tomato puree and we call it cooking out but smell a puree otherwise it just goes in there raw and it gives this sort of tartness to the braised short ribs red wine in don't use an expensive bottle of red wine there's no need bring the wine up to the boil and reduce it this burns off the alcohol and concentrates the flavor it makes a big difference when you reduce the red wine down by half because it gives that nice dark rich intensity look at my garlic that is just gonna sweeten everything up incredible stock in beef stock perfect chicken stock fine just to about an inch underneath the beef short ribs bring it up to the ball to lock in all that flavor as the beef ribs slow cook cover them so they braise from the bottom and steam from the top into the oven two and a half hours 170 to 180 degrees in she goes the great thing about slow cooking is you do most of the work in advance and then put your feet up five or ten minutes before the beef short ribs come out of the oven start your garnish it's a light cured pancetta i want nice thick lardons nice big thick sticks of crispy bacon these are delicious chestnut mushrooms i'm not going to slice them i'm just going to cut them in half but look at the color on those lardons now all the whites raw fat have disappeared the lardons have shrunk right down and all we've got there now is the proper bacon mushrooms in beautiful so the mushrooms get seasoned from the bacon i'm pan frying these separately to the beef so they remain crisp and have a different texture leave that to cool down now this is like christmas day for me when you unwrap that fall wait you see what's underneath it wow they smell incredible lift and place on the tray beautiful to make a fantastic rich deep sauce press the soft roasted garlic through a sieve into the cooking juices all that nice pureed garlic coming through there because that is going to make the most amazing flavor scrape all of that off the sieve nice then just start sieving all that lovely braising liquor wow in that smells delicious take your sauce and just glaze do them individually they deserve that respect spoon on your bacon and your mushrooms useful be generous with these mushrooms i'm telling you they taste amazing flat leaf parsley all that freshness over those amazing ribs incredible never ever be embarrassed about going to your butcher and asking for cheap cuts because the results are incredible amazing beef braised short ribs with bacon and mushrooms delicious slow braised stuffed lamb breast one of the secrets to slow cooking is to be robust and really get stuck in big bold flavors work really well so don't be precious this is gutsy cooking at its absolute best these are lamb breasts a beautiful cheap cut and it's sort of tucked alongside the rib they've been boned out the skin has been taken off i'm going to roll them stuff them and braise them braising simply means cooking in liquid on a low heat making the meat divinely tender now open them up and give them a really good season season them both sides inside and out really important it doesn't look like a real weighty dense cut of meat but once it's beautifully slow braised it's just like melting lamb it's incredible i'm going to season the breast with some dried oregano put a heat in there some chili flakes lemon zest there's some amazing salted anchovies in there now they almost melt inside the lamb so the balance of flavors work beautifully now pull it down towards you and roll that nice and tightly that's what i'm looking for string i just need to tie them three times one at each end and one in the middle i fell in love with this dish years ago when i first started working in paris because we had all the lamb in from the pyrenees nice thing is they can be done the day before pan on olive oil in get that oil nice and hot lamb in really important to get some nice color on there whilst they're browning slice the onion the lamb's gonna be cooking for two and a half hours so don't slice the onions too thinly otherwise they'll burn garlic and leave whole got a color on them look at that beautiful take them out onions in and garlic straight in that's the secret about slow braising you never change pans why all the goodness is in that one pan a few chili seeds in there oregano nice pinch a little bit of lemon in there i'm gonna do the onions what i did to the lamb next my capers fry them off get them exploding the bottom of the pan they get nice and crispy next my black olives now white wine bring that up to the boil delays in the pan as well i rinse in the bottom of that pan and now the flavour in there is just extraordinary now where that tomatoes puncher those plum tomatoes then simply place the lamb breast back in the pot and remember to taste that's nice lid on into the oven 170 two two and a half hours and forget about it whoa beautiful all that has reduced down to this amazing nice tomato sauce and the lamb has kept its color look at that it's braised beautifully very carefully get your little bits there slice off pull off the little bits of string this is why i get really excited the secret is not to slice it too thinly look at that i can smell the lemon it's hard to believe when you slice through the center there that that is a very cheap cut of meat i'm salivating i love this i mean it's just incredible pick up the tomatoes and the olives and the onions an amazing rich sauce take your lamb sort of just sit it on it looks incredible and that for me is why chefs get so excited with cheap cuts because the end results are incredible delicious breast of lamb with lemon anchovies chili and oregano my next recipe turns what used to be a decidedly unfashionable cut of meat into the star of the dish fit to grace any table slow roasted pork belly with fennel slow roasting works better on fattier tougher and unfashionable cuts whether it's a cheek or even a neck or this amazing pork belly it's a fantastic way to transform cheap cuts into amazing melting perfection take a very sharp knife bring the pork belly towards you so you're over it and you've got all that pressure and weight using the tip of the knife i'm just sort of nicking it and go across the pork belly long strokes with a knife take your time turn it 180. this time what we're doing is just sort of cutting these nice little sort of diamonds but as that starts roasting on top it starts getting nice and crispy take your handfuls of salt and just sort of rub it in bend it over and in all those cracks really helps to get a nice crisp crackling on top roasting tray getting really nice and hot take a hole over fennel to intensify flavor and to keep the meat succulent i'm braising my pork belly with strong vibrant spices and vegetables crush and peel three whole cloves of garlic and add to the fennel olive oil in fennel in i like the nice strong aniseed flavor that goes with that nice rich dense pork fennel seeds delicious star anise in and just a couple of cardamom seeds and wow they're like little bangers like little firecrackers incredible lovely fresh bay leaves get your pork skin side down just sear the top of that fat that locks in all that amazing flavor then i'm going to flip it over and get it nice and crispy and then i want fennel seeds embedded in those little cracks now some white wine a minute that white wine hits that pan you can smell that light fragrance from the fennel allow the wine to bubble away and reduce until the alcohol has burnt off time that the stock now the stock goes in just underneath the skin so it roasts on top all that meat under there will be submerged because what happens in the oven the top goes crispy as anything and the stock reduces and braises at the same time really importantly bring that back up to the ball before it goes in the oven otherwise it will never boil never get up to temperature smells incredible slow roast the pork belly at 180 degrees for two and a half hours look at that you've got that nice crispy skin on top you can see how much of the stock has evaporated put that onto the board it looks stunning to make a delicious rustic sauce with the flavor packed contents of the roasting tray first get rid of the excess fat take a couple of slices of bread it's like a perfect sponge because you just lay that on top and drag it almost like a net and it just absorbs all that fat if you want the perfect fried bread trust me stick that in a frying pan a nice teaspoon of mustard whisk that in and then simply simmer for a few minutes before pouring into a serving jug with your pork belly always use a nice serrated edge knife you can hear that that is amazing incredibly tender that belly of pork is gonna almost melt in your mouth you've got that sweet meat under that crispy belly of pork what an amazing way to cook a very cheap cut of meat you\n"