Slow-Cooked Pork Confit Carnitas - Dummy

Partially pre-bake the pie shell

Preheat the oven to 200°C conventional, 180°C convection, Gas mark 6.
1 Shortcrust pastry / Pâte brisée (Homemade or store bought - about 30 cm diameter and 3 mm thin)

Line a pie dish with shortcrust pastry. Press down into the curves with the back of your fingers. Trim the edges and crimp as desired.
Prick the bottom of the dish with the tines of a fork, especially the circumference all around the base to prevent puffing.

"Docking" - to prevent the pockets of steam in the dough from puffing up.

Bake the crust for 15 minutes or until the edges just start to turn golden brown and the base is set but barely golden.

Mise en place

200 grams Streaky bacon / Smoked pork belly / Bacon bits (If use smoked pork belly - cut in 0.5 cm-thick slices)

If using streaky bacon, cut into 2 cm-wide strips. If using smoked pork belly slices, trim off the rind and any cartilage then cut into 2 cm-long strips. Bacon bits are ready to use.

Prepare the bacon

In a skillet, render the fat out of the streaky bacon/smoked pork belly slices/bacon bits over medium high heat. Keep a close eye not to burn.
Just about when the bacon starts to become crispy to your liking but not dried out (around 10 minutes), turn off the heat. Discard excess fat if any.

Leave the bacon in the skillet as it will continue to cook from the remaining heat. Drain the fat (optional).

Prepare the filling

3 Egg
2 Egg yolk
250 milliliters Milk
250 milliliters Heavy cream

In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, milk and heavy cream.
½ teaspoon Fine sea salt
2 teaspoons Black pepper (Freshly ground)
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg (Optional)

Season with fine sea salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Hold back on salt as the bacon/smoked pork belly is usually heavily salted on its own as part of the conservation process.

Assemble and bake the quiche

Keep the oven at 200°C conventional, 180°C convection, Gas mark 6.
Spread the crispy bacon evenly on top of the pie crust.
200 grams Gruyère / Emmental cheese (Grated)

At the oven door, pour over the egg-cream mixture. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the quiche is golden brown to your liking.

For a dark brown sheen with a crispy flaky crust, use water. For a light matte sheen with a soft crust, use milk.

Serving

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy it warm or cold. Pairs well with the green salad.