Cut ¼ pound of pork belly and cook in a small cast iron skillet on a 400 degree grill for about 15 minutes. Make sure that there is a good amount of space between the pieces or they will not get crispy.
Remove the pork belly from the cast iron immediately otherwise it will continue to cook in the hot pan. This will serve two purposes. First, it will provide some nice delicious cooked pork to add in to your root vegetables, and second, the rendered fat will minimize the sticking for the next steps.
Root Vegetables
While the pork belly is cooking, chop a medley of root vegetables into bite-sized pieces. We used rutabaga, acorn squash, butternut squash, baby potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, onions and carrots.
Plan for a total of 4-5 cups of cut vegetables. We ended up with about twelve cups and had to make multiple batches.
Add the pork belly fat to the vegetables and mix well. This will minimize sticking on the grill.
Pour the vegetables on the cast iron pan. Keep it to one layer high to maximize the "browning" of the veggies.
Let them grill at 400 degrees for five minutes. Check to see if they are starting to caramelize. Once they are, turn them over and let them grill for another five minutes. They should be fork tender and well browned when it is time to remove them from the grill.
After removing them from the grill, add in the pork belly and mix. It's time to serve!
Notes
Vegetarian Option: Keep the Pork Belly out of the dish if you want to keep it vegetarian. Proper Searing: The key to this recipe is a good searing on the veggies. If they aren’t starting to brown nicely at the five minute mark, leave them alone. It is so tempting to move them around, but the cast iron will create that wonderful and flavorful sear if you just leave them alone. It is hard to be patient, but the end result is worth it.Cast Iron: If you don’t have this particular Lodge Grilling Pan, don’t worry. Any old cast iron skillet will work wonderfully. I like this one as the openings in the bottom allow the air to flow through. It works just as well in a plain cast iron skillet. Make sure that you have enough fat to lightly coat the bottom. That will help the veggies from sticking.Storage: They should be kept in the fridge in a sealed container. They will last 3-4 days. Meal Prep: All of this is so meal prep friendly that you can cut up everything and have it in the refrigerator ready to go when you fire up the grill which makes this one a huge hit for cookouts.