The Pork Belly Croque Madame

Maple Braised Pork Belly, Gruyère, Mornay sauce, Fried Egg on Sourdough Bread

I was in Paris not too long ago and I was surprised to see that McDonald's has a Croque Madame on the Menu. I figured that if McDonald's could make one then so could I. However, I wanted to give it a little twist by using braised pork belly instead of ham. Yes, delicious pork belly. This can't possibly fail.

The Grocery List - Serves Two

• 1lb pork belly
• about 6 cups of orange juice
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 2 cup whole milk
• 12 oz. gruyère, grated
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 4 slices of sourdough bread
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• olive oil

Let's break it down...

The Pork Belly

• 1lb pork belly
• about 6 cups of orange juice
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
• olive oi

1. Preheat the oven to 275
2. Season the pork belly with cayenne, Chinese five spice, salt and pepper.
3. Over medium heat warm some olive oil in an oven safe pan. Add the pork belly and brown on both sides.
4. Add the orange juice and maple syrup so that it just about covers the pork belly and bring to a boil.
5. Remove from the heat, cover and place in the oven for about 2.5 hours.
6. Remove the pork belly from the braising liquid and place on a foil lined backing sheet. Broil for about 10 or 15 minutes to give it a little crispness.

The Fried Egg

• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon butter

1. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a frying an at low heat
2. Crack an egg into the pan and fry sunny side up. The egg yolk should runny.

The Monray Sauce

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Over medium heat in a saucepan melt the butter.
2. Stir in the flour and heat for a couple of minutes.
3. Pour in the milk.
4. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
5. Heat the mixture stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in in the cheese.
7. Keep warm. This should ideally be done last.

Assemble

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Sprinkle the Gruyère on one slice of the bread. Place both slices in the oven. Warm until the bread is lightly toasted and the cheese is melted just enough.
3. Slice the pork belly and layer on the bread.
4. Top the sandwich and place on a plate
5. Drizzle the monray on top of the sandwich so that it is almost covered and dripping down the sides
6. Place the fried egg on top.

Side Ideas

I served this sandwich with a roasted heirloom tomato. In fact, I recommend taking bites that include the sandwich. I also made some yukon gold potato chips with a mustard mayo dipping sauce.