Deviled Eggs with Crispy Pork Belly and Smoked Paprika

• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 bay leaves, crushed
• 1 pound pork belly
• 4 cups chicken stock
• Vegetable or canola oil for frying

• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise, divided
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• Salt to taste
• 1 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Lemon juice to taste

To make the pork belly, mix together the salt, sugar, and crushed bay leaves, then rub on the pork belly. Let the pork sit for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Rinse off the seasonings.

Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Place the pork belly in a Dutch oven and cover with chicken stock. (You might not need to use all of the stock.) Cover the pot and braise in the oven until very tender, about 4 hours. Remove from the oven and allow the pork belly to cool in the liquid. When at room temperature, remove the pork belly and pull it apart, breaking the meat into 1-inch pieces.

Heat an inch of oil in a pot to 350ºF. Fry the pork pieces until crispy, about 3 minutes, working in batches if necessary. Transfer the fried pork to paper towels to drain.

To make the deviled eggs, cut the eggs in half lengthwise and remove the yolks. Whisk the yolks with 1/4 cup mayonnaise and the yellow mustard until smooth. Season to taste with salt. Fill each egg white with a heaping tablespoon of the yolk mixture.

Mix the remaining mayonnaise with the smoked paprika. Season to taste with more salt and the lemon juice. Drizzle the paprika mayonnaise over the deviled eggs. Top each egg with a piece of fried pork.