Pork Recipes

BBQ Baked Beans with Dry-Cured Smoked Pork Belly

By

Cooking a whole piece of bacon with the beans in this way creates something a little bit naughty! Shred the bacon through the smoky, dark, and brooding beans for a dinner that will keep you coming back for more.

It’s hard to know where to place this on the weekly roster of meal times. At home, we often make it early on in the week and then dine out on it through the week, letting it supplement lots of meals. However, it could easily be the main event if you were hosting. A slaw cut from seasonal vegetables, perhaps dressed in a little buttermilk, is the first thing that springs to mind. Or heaped in a baked potato with good cheese grated all over it? Or on toast? You’ve got options!

Serves: 8-10

Cook time: 8 hours

Ingredients

Method

  1. The beans will need a quick simmer in water to begin their journey. Drain them from the water they have been soaking in and tip them into a pot. Cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 mins. Drain and set to one side.

The rest of the recipe can be achieved in one pot, you just need to make sure that you find one that’s big enough and has a lid that can go in the oven.

  1. Begin by placing the pan on the stove, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and to this add the peppers, onions, garlic, carrots and the bay leaves. Colour them off over a high heat – refrain from seasoning this with salt as we are going to cook the beans in here and dried beans don’t love salt until they are fully cooked.
  2. After sautéing the veg off for about 10 mins, add the tomato puree, smoked paprika, ancho powder, and dried oregano. Stir together and continue to cook for another 3 minutes.
  3. Then add the beans, chicken stock, tinned tomato, dark sugar and vinegar. Bring it to a boil.
  4. Preheat the oven to 100°C.
  5. Place the smoked belly, carefully, on top of the bubbling beans. Fit the lid on top and place it in the oven for 3 hours.
  6. After 3 hours, remove the lid and then return to the oven for another 3 hours.
  7. After the next three hours, turn the oven up to 190°C and cook with the lid off for 30 minutes. By this point, the liquid should have been absorbed by the beans, and the belly should be resting on top. The blast at 190°C is meant to help to brown off the meat. Some of the beans might begin to colour a bit too — this is not a bad thing and can be stirred back through the beans.
  8. Remove from the oven and then leave aside to rest for about half an hour.
  9. Take a carving fork and a large knife, shred the belly piece into the beans, and give it a good stir all together. Check for seasoning before serving.

Order meat online

For 15 years, George worked in some of London’s most loved restaurants, including Padella and Primeur, and spent five years as Head Chef at the Garden Museum Café. He earned praise for his simple, thoughtful cooking, with dishes rooted in the classics and always respectful of the ingredients.

In 2021, George realised a long-held ambition with the release of his first cookbook, A Year in the Kitchen. It celebrates the annual cookery cycle, guiding readers through the British seasons, showcasing native produce and encouraging creativity year-round.

In 2022, George left London and returned to his native Yorkshire. His passion for seasonal cooking and respect for quality British ingredients have remained central to his work. Like his food, George is led by the seasons, open to new opportunities and always following his heart.

Instagram

  • Filmed on a blustery day at the Harewood House estate, Ellen talks us through the Highland cattle and the wider farming approach shaping the land here. These short films look at how the estate is guiding the land back towards what it once was, using the right livestock for the right terrain and allowing systems to work with the landscape rather than against it. Hardy cattle, able to outwinter on pasture alone, reduce the need for inputs and bring a different kind of balance to the farm. For chefs, this is where the story begins. The flavour comes later, but it is built here, in the fields, through decisions made over time rather than in a single season. It is a strong example of thoughtful farming, where lower inputs and careful management can support both the land and a sustainable margin, all driven by a clear intention to make the estate work for nature as much as it does for people.
  • We love it when a plan comes together! And this little project with @llewelynslondon provides a great example. It all started with a trip up to Swaledale HQ, to see the butchery and meet the team; bacon, black pudding and egg baps were laid on fo breakfast. Then it was off to see one of our network of farmers; Jim Mallender, over in Thornton in craven. Jim and his family showed us round and held a sort of farming Q&A. Then we cooked some cuts on a bbq and sampled the llewelyns take on a hotpot. Truly bringing farmers and chef together and a wonderful day for all involved. Off the back of the visit a special dinner an d a three course menu of dreams. It celebrates not just our produce and their cooking but also the 6 beautiful years that head chef michael (@skinnylittlefatman) has spent at the helm of this charming restaurant. We are extremely excited to eat and drink tonight to celebrate all those things.
  • There might not be a food that is more of this generation than fried chicken. It’s eminently Instagram-able (or TikTok-able depending on your age), malleable to various cuisines and extremely delicious. Plus, it has just the right amount of technique, if you know what I mean. The sort of thing that, if you’re not giving it the requisite thought and attention, can be a bit ropey. No danger of that here though… @Grylos has given it the Swaledale treatment, i.e. keeping it simple, making it delicious and showing off our incredible meat. So, with no more than a saffron aioli, some shredded iceberg and a few sliced pickles, this is the fried chicken burger of dreams! Oh, sorry, nearly forgot the crispy chicken skin – told you there was just the right amount of technique. There are few things that we would want to munch down for lunch more than one of these bad boys. Give ‘em a whirl!
  • Always good to welcome chefs to the butchery. Earlier this week the teams from @llewelynslondon came up to see us. We showed them around the cutting room, talked through how we work, then headed up the hill for a bit of cooking and conversation. For many chefs it is the first chance to see the whole journey. From the farms and fields where the animals are raised, through our ageing rooms, and finally into the kitchens that cook it. If you are a chef and fancy a visit this year, you would be very welcome. Send us a message and we will put the kettle on.
  • March sits between seasons. Winter has not quite loosened its grip, and there is still time, and need, for fortifying pleasures. A bowl of chicken broth is one of them. It begins with a proper chicken stock. Just bones and time in the pot, slowly giving up their flavour until the liquid runs clear and deeply savoury. If you watched our earlier film on how to break down a whole chicken, this is where the rest of it finds its purpose. From there the broth is built. Pearl barley for substance. Cavolo nero and turnips for the season. Simple things, allowed to do their work in good stock. Just before serving, a small splash of oloroso lifts the whole bowl.
  • British Pie Week, apparently. We do not usually pay much attention to themed food weeks. We prefer to make and sell things when they feel right. This year is different, thanks to our growing friendship with Yorkshire chef and pie obsessive Josh Whitehead, and his excellent pie project, Finer Pleasures. Josh started @finer_pleasures in 2023 to make pies the way they should be made. Proper fillings, local meat and traditional methods. So we thought we would join in. The pie is a classic. Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom. Brined chicken, smoked ham hock and a rich velouté finished with herbs, mustard and chestnut mushrooms or leeks. A proper pie. Available this week while they last.
  • On a recent trip down to London we spent time in some very good kitchens, talking to serious chefs, and the conversation kept returning to farming. Not trends or noise, but where the beef is truly coming from. We kept bringing up the work at the Harewood House estate. It is a project we intend to give real focus to this year, because what has been achieved there, and what continues to develop, deserves attention. On a recent visit we walked the fields with Ellen, spending time with the Highlands that many walkers know from the estate’s mires, quietly becoming unlikely stars of TikTok. Beautiful cattle, carefully and thoughtfully managed. They have been fully outwintered and fed only on pasture. Stock levels are low, grazing is controlled, and the result is clear in their condition. This beef is now heading into some of the most loved kitchens in the country and the response is and feedback is very good. A short film will follow, but for now it is worth recognising the work. We look forward to sharing more from Harewood in the months ahead.
  • It’s easy to become disconnected with the restaurants and kitchens where our meat ends up being prepped, cooked and served. Whilst Instagram can give us a certain understanding of how the food looks; we all know that there is no substitute for experiencing it first-hand. And that is what we had the pleasure of doing this week at the Canton Arms. One of London’s great pubs and one of our oldest, most significant customers. We have been suppling them with exceptional meat since nearly the very beginning of the Swaledale journey. Last night was a moment to celebrate that relationship in all its glory; our meat and their cooking and outstanding hospitality coming together for what was a grand evening. We ate, we drank, we chatted in a room that was alive. Long may dining rooms like this thrive and continue to provide people with a space to consume food, booze and hospitality in such a joyous way. It was a special night for us, and we hope for everyone who was there. Thanks to @chargieb , @cantontrish, @petea25 and the @cantonarms team for being total legends xx Ps sorry for not getting any decent pics of the food! Was having too much fun.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
Filmed on a blustery day at the Harewood House estate, Ellen talks us through the Highland cattle and the wider farming approach shaping the land here. These short films look at how the estate is guiding the land back towards what it once was, using the right livestock for the right terrain and allowing systems to work with the landscape rather than against it. Hardy cattle, able to outwinter on pasture alone, reduce the need for inputs and bring a different kind of balance to the farm. For chefs, this is where the story begins. The flavour comes later, but it is built here, in the fields, through decisions made over time rather than in a single season. It is a strong example of thoughtful farming, where lower inputs and careful management can support both the land and a sustainable margin, all driven by a clear intention to make the estate work for nature as much as it does for people.
22 hours ago
41
View on Instagram |
1/8
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
We love it when a plan comes together! And this little project with @llewelynslondon provides a great example. It all started with a trip up to Swaledale HQ, to see the butchery and meet the team; bacon, black pudding and egg baps were laid on fo breakfast. Then it was off to see one of our network of farmers; Jim Mallender, over in Thornton in craven. Jim and his family showed us round and held a sort of farming Q&A. Then we cooked some cuts on a bbq and sampled the llewelyns take on a hotpot. Truly bringing farmers and chef together and a wonderful day for all involved. Off the back of the visit a special dinner an d a three course menu of dreams. It celebrates not just our produce and their cooking but also the 6 beautiful years that head chef michael (@skinnylittlefatman) has spent at the helm of this charming restaurant. We are extremely excited to eat and drink tonight to celebrate all those things.
4 days ago
49
View on Instagram |
2/8
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
There might not be a food that is more of this generation than fried chicken. It’s eminently Instagram-able (or TikTok-able depending on your age), malleable to various cuisines and extremely delicious. Plus, it has just the right amount of technique, if you know what I mean. The sort of thing that, if you’re not giving it the requisite thought and attention, can be a bit ropey. No danger of that here though… @Grylos has given it the Swaledale treatment, i.e. keeping it simple, making it delicious and showing off our incredible meat. So, with no more than a saffron aioli, some shredded iceberg and a few sliced pickles, this is the fried chicken burger of dreams! Oh, sorry, nearly forgot the crispy chicken skin – told you there was just the right amount of technique. There are few things that we would want to munch down for lunch more than one of these bad boys. Give ‘em a whirl!
1 week ago
645
View on Instagram |
3/8
Always good to welcome chefs to the butchery. Earlier this week the teams from @llewelynslondon came up to see us. We showed them around the cutting room, talked through how we work, then headed up the hill for a bit of cooking and conversation. For many chefs it is the first chance to see the whole journey. From the farms and fields where the animals are raised, through our ageing rooms, and finally into the kitchens that cook it. If you are a chef and fancy a visit this year, you would be very welcome. Send us a message and we will put the kettle on.
Always good to welcome chefs to the butchery. Earlier this week the teams from @llewelynslondon came up to see us. We showed them around the cutting room, talked through how we work, then headed up the hill for a bit of cooking and conversation. For many chefs it is the first chance to see the whole journey. From the farms and fields where the animals are raised, through our ageing rooms, and finally into the kitchens that cook it. If you are a chef and fancy a visit this year, you would be very welcome. Send us a message and we will put the kettle on.
Always good to welcome chefs to the butchery. Earlier this week the teams from @llewelynslondon came up to see us. We showed them around the cutting room, talked through how we work, then headed up the hill for a bit of cooking and conversation. For many chefs it is the first chance to see the whole journey. From the farms and fields where the animals are raised, through our ageing rooms, and finally into the kitchens that cook it. If you are a chef and fancy a visit this year, you would be very welcome. Send us a message and we will put the kettle on.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
Always good to welcome chefs to the butchery. Earlier this week the teams from @llewelynslondon came up to see us. We showed them around the cutting room, talked through how we work, then headed up the hill for a bit of cooking and conversation. For many chefs it is the first chance to see the whole journey. From the farms and fields where the animals are raised, through our ageing rooms, and finally into the kitchens that cook it. If you are a chef and fancy a visit this year, you would be very welcome. Send us a message and we will put the kettle on.
2 weeks ago
52
View on Instagram |
4/8
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
March sits between seasons. Winter has not quite loosened its grip, and there is still time, and need, for fortifying pleasures. A bowl of chicken broth is one of them. It begins with a proper chicken stock. Just bones and time in the pot, slowly giving up their flavour until the liquid runs clear and deeply savoury. If you watched our earlier film on how to break down a whole chicken, this is where the rest of it finds its purpose. From there the broth is built. Pearl barley for substance. Cavolo nero and turnips for the season. Simple things, allowed to do their work in good stock. Just before serving, a small splash of oloroso lifts the whole bowl.
3 weeks ago
952
View on Instagram |
5/8
British Pie Week, apparently. We do not usually pay much attention to themed food weeks. We prefer to make and sell things when they feel right. This year is different, thanks to our growing friendship with Yorkshire chef and pie obsessive Josh Whitehead, and his excellent pie project, Finer Pleasures. Josh started @finer_pleasures in 2023 to make pies the way they should be made. Proper fillings, local meat and traditional methods. So we thought we would join in. The pie is a classic. Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom. Brined chicken, smoked ham hock and a rich velouté finished with herbs, mustard and chestnut mushrooms or leeks. A proper pie. Available this week while they last.
British Pie Week, apparently. We do not usually pay much attention to themed food weeks. We prefer to make and sell things when they feel right. This year is different, thanks to our growing friendship with Yorkshire chef and pie obsessive Josh Whitehead, and his excellent pie project, Finer Pleasures. Josh started @finer_pleasures in 2023 to make pies the way they should be made. Proper fillings, local meat and traditional methods. So we thought we would join in. The pie is a classic. Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom. Brined chicken, smoked ham hock and a rich velouté finished with herbs, mustard and chestnut mushrooms or leeks. A proper pie. Available this week while they last.
British Pie Week, apparently. We do not usually pay much attention to themed food weeks. We prefer to make and sell things when they feel right. This year is different, thanks to our growing friendship with Yorkshire chef and pie obsessive Josh Whitehead, and his excellent pie project, Finer Pleasures. Josh started @finer_pleasures in 2023 to make pies the way they should be made. Proper fillings, local meat and traditional methods. So we thought we would join in. The pie is a classic. Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom. Brined chicken, smoked ham hock and a rich velouté finished with herbs, mustard and chestnut mushrooms or leeks. A proper pie. Available this week while they last.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
British Pie Week, apparently. We do not usually pay much attention to themed food weeks. We prefer to make and sell things when they feel right. This year is different, thanks to our growing friendship with Yorkshire chef and pie obsessive Josh Whitehead, and his excellent pie project, Finer Pleasures. Josh started @finer_pleasures in 2023 to make pies the way they should be made. Proper fillings, local meat and traditional methods. So we thought we would join in. The pie is a classic. Chicken, ham, leek and mushroom. Brined chicken, smoked ham hock and a rich velouté finished with herbs, mustard and chestnut mushrooms or leeks. A proper pie. Available this week while they last.
3 weeks ago
601
View on Instagram |
6/8
On a recent trip down to London we spent time in some very good kitchens, talking to serious chefs, and the conversation kept returning to farming. Not trends or noise, but where the beef is truly coming from. We kept bringing up the work at the Harewood House estate. It is a project we intend to give real focus to this year, because what has been achieved there, and what continues to develop, deserves attention. On a recent visit we walked the fields with Ellen, spending time with the Highlands that many walkers know from the estate’s mires, quietly becoming unlikely stars of TikTok. Beautiful cattle, carefully and thoughtfully managed. They have been fully outwintered and fed only on pasture. Stock levels are low, grazing is controlled, and the result is clear in their condition. This beef is now heading into some of the most loved kitchens in the country and the response is and feedback is very good. A short film will follow, but for now it is worth recognising the work. We look forward to sharing more from Harewood in the months ahead.
On a recent trip down to London we spent time in some very good kitchens, talking to serious chefs, and the conversation kept returning to farming. Not trends or noise, but where the beef is truly coming from. We kept bringing up the work at the Harewood House estate. It is a project we intend to give real focus to this year, because what has been achieved there, and what continues to develop, deserves attention. On a recent visit we walked the fields with Ellen, spending time with the Highlands that many walkers know from the estate’s mires, quietly becoming unlikely stars of TikTok. Beautiful cattle, carefully and thoughtfully managed. They have been fully outwintered and fed only on pasture. Stock levels are low, grazing is controlled, and the result is clear in their condition. This beef is now heading into some of the most loved kitchens in the country and the response is and feedback is very good. A short film will follow, but for now it is worth recognising the work. We look forward to sharing more from Harewood in the months ahead.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
On a recent trip down to London we spent time in some very good kitchens, talking to serious chefs, and the conversation kept returning to farming. Not trends or noise, but where the beef is truly coming from. We kept bringing up the work at the Harewood House estate. It is a project we intend to give real focus to this year, because what has been achieved there, and what continues to develop, deserves attention. On a recent visit we walked the fields with Ellen, spending time with the Highlands that many walkers know from the estate’s mires, quietly becoming unlikely stars of TikTok. Beautiful cattle, carefully and thoughtfully managed. They have been fully outwintered and fed only on pasture. Stock levels are low, grazing is controlled, and the result is clear in their condition. This beef is now heading into some of the most loved kitchens in the country and the response is and feedback is very good. A short film will follow, but for now it is worth recognising the work. We look forward to sharing more from Harewood in the months ahead.
4 weeks ago
58
View on Instagram |
7/8
It’s easy to become disconnected with the restaurants and kitchens where our meat ends up being prepped, cooked and served. Whilst Instagram can give us a certain understanding of how the food looks; we all know that there is no substitute for experiencing it first-hand. And that is what we had the pleasure of doing this week at the Canton Arms. One of London’s great pubs and one of our oldest, most significant customers. We have been suppling them with exceptional meat since nearly the very beginning of the Swaledale journey. Last night was a moment to celebrate that relationship in all its glory; our meat and their cooking and outstanding hospitality coming together for what was a grand evening. We ate, we drank, we chatted in a room that was alive. Long may dining rooms like this thrive and continue to provide people with a space to consume food, booze and hospitality in such a joyous way. It was a special night for us, and we hope for everyone who was there. Thanks to @chargieb , @cantontrish, @petea25 and the @cantonarms team for being total legends xx Ps sorry for not getting any decent pics of the food! Was having too much fun.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
It’s easy to become disconnected with the restaurants and kitchens where our meat ends up being prepped, cooked and served. Whilst Instagram can give us a certain understanding of how the food looks; we all know that there is no substitute for experiencing it first-hand. And that is what we had the pleasure of doing this week at the Canton Arms. One of London’s great pubs and one of our oldest, most significant customers. We have been suppling them with exceptional meat since nearly the very beginning of the Swaledale journey. Last night was a moment to celebrate that relationship in all its glory; our meat and their cooking and outstanding hospitality coming together for what was a grand evening. We ate, we drank, we chatted in a room that was alive. Long may dining rooms like this thrive and continue to provide people with a space to consume food, booze and hospitality in such a joyous way. It was a special night for us, and we hope for everyone who was there. Thanks to @chargieb , @cantontrish, @petea25 and the @cantonarms team for being total legends xx Ps sorry for not getting any decent pics of the food! Was having too much fun.
4 weeks ago
1514
View on Instagram |
8/8