Cider-Braised Pork Belly Quesadillas

For the braised pork belly:
Cut the pork belly in half. Heat the canola oil in a medium-sized sauté pan on medium heat. Add the pork and brown on all sides. Place in a 3-quart crockpot. Pour enough cider into the crock to come up to 1/8” from the top of the pork. Don’t completely submerge the meat. Add the demi-glace (optional), garlic and bay leaf. Set on low and braise for 8 hours, turning every couple of hours. Remove pork from the braise and let it sit for 5 minutes. Remove the top layer of fat and discard. Shred with a fork.

For the pickled onions:
Place the sliced onion in a small saucepan along with the peppercorns and cover with white vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes and turn off the heat. Let it cool in the vinegar.

For the assembly:
Place half of the slices of Havarti cheese on one half of each tortilla. You’ll need to overlap the cheese to fit into the one side of the tortilla. Top with the pickled onions (make sure to cover most of the cheese in a single layer). Add some shredded pork over the onions. Fold the tortillas over to create a half moon and cover the fillings.

Heat a cast iron pan or griddle and place the tortillas on the griddle on medium heat. Weigh the tortillas down with another pan. Let the tortillas crisp up (this should only take a little over a minute). Flip over and toast the other side. Remove from the pan and slice into 3 triangles each.