Crispy Skin Roasted Pork Belly with "EXTRA BITS"

EXTRA BITS !!!

DID I PAY EXTRA FOR EXTRA BITS ???

a little lesson in the reality of NOSE TO TAIL

(before i go on...Jamie Oliver's recipe for Crispy Skin Oven Roasted Pork Belly is FABULOUS.

i've cooked it many times and posted about it HERE)

well, this was my reality check...

that delicious unctuous Pork Belly actually comes from a PIG'S BELLY........ i know... DUH !

AND, like most animals, pigs have boobs...breasts, mammary glands...nipples...a bunch of them in fact...

on their bellies...

but...have you EVER encountered this (these) before?  

i have bought many a pork belly in the last few years, in all shapes and sizes, but i have not come across an actual "nipple" on the belly....until NOW.

am i just a naive beach city girl, buying her nice clean bellies from the "Super Market"?...

do country folk get the "extra bits" all the time?...

maybe this is a sign of good luck and wealth in some country?

does this not seem odd to anyone else?

the butcher showed me a beautiful slab.  i thought it looked small, but nice and fatty...i said, "i'll take that one".  i took it home, rinsed it and dried it thoroughly.  i started slicing at one end with my trusty sharp blade making sure the cuts in the skin were even...

i get to the other end and...EEK, what the heck is that?!

two larger than life piggy nipples !

well, at that point i was laughing out loud...grabbed the camera and thought no one is gonna believe this unless i get a good shot.

long story short...i cooked it up as usual ala Jamie Oliver's recipe and it came out fabulous looking as usual...except i knew there were two extra crispy nipples on one end...(as seen in photo).....as you might already know, the end bits are the best bites.

i'm all about the nose to tail deal, as you might have guessed by some of my other posts, but i'll have to admit...i didn't have the guts to eat the crispy nipples.  something about seeing the cross cut of an actual mammary gland just didn't sit right with me...maybe because i just can't eat parts i can so closely identify with...or maybe because i just plain chickened out, but i am a little embarrassed to say i did not partake in the crispy nipple bites...my loss...?

so, maybe i am just a naive beach city girl...maybe i did miss out on the good luck and fortunes, but i must say, if  put to the task...

next time i WILL eat the crispy bits in question.

once again... the original for Jamie's Roast Pork Belly can be found here

and my post for Crispy Skin Pork Belly is here with my notes and others comments.