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Slab Bacon in Panca Pepper/Brown Loaf Sugar syrup

Panca peppers are South American peppers that resemble sweet chipotles. Maricel Presilla uses them in a marinade for slab bacon at her New Jersey pan-Latin restaurant, Cucharamamma. The dish brings together Old World Spanish ingredients such as olive oil and sherry vinegar with New World chiles. She suggests serving this dish with fresh corn tamales and toasted Andean corn. Note that the meat needs to marinate for a minimum of 6 hours. Adapted from a recipe by Maricel E. Presilla, from Spain and The World Table, The Culinary Institute of America. Serves 8

4lb (1.8 kg) skinned and boned pork belly or slab bacon, in 1 piece
18 dried panca peppers, stemmed and seeded
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2⁄3 cup garlic cloves
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon Spanish sweet paprika
¼ cup Spanish aged sherry vinegar
½ cup orange juice
1 tablespoon honey, preferably Catalan wild oak honey,
or 2 teaspoons Peruvian sirope de algarrobina
1 cup Oloroso Brown Loaf Sugar Syrup
2 teaspoons salt, or more as needed

1. Rinse the pork belly or bacon and pat dry. Cut a grid pattern on the meat side, being careful not to cut through.

2. Heat a large heavy skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add the dried peppers, in batches, and toast lightly until they puff slightly and emit their fragrance, 3 to 4 seconds on each side. Place in a medium bowl and cover with 3 cups of warm water for 30 minutes to soften. When the peppers are soft, drain them and place in a
blender with the oil, garlic, cumin, paprika, sherry vinegar, orange juice, honey or sirope de algarrobina, and ½ cup of the brown loaf sugar syrup. Process to a smooth paste, about 2½ minutes. Stir in the salt, or more or less to taste.

3. Place the pork belly or bacon meat side up in a large casserole roasting pan that can fit the meat in an even layer. Pour the marinade over the meat and rub thoroughly all over. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), with the rack adjusted to the middle. Uncover the meat and bake until fork tender, 3 to 4 hours. The paste will turn very dark brown in color and it may be necessary to cover the meat halfway through the cooking process.

5. Transfer the meat to a large cutting board and cut into bite-sized cubes. Drizzle each serving of meat with 1 tablespoon of the brown loaf sugar syrup, or serve 2 to 3 tablespoons on the side in a small bowl or ramekin.