Thread: Punked Porchetta and PBBEs

I had plans to cook a Porchetta this weekend, but I got screwed over by the meat clerk.
I specifically asked for a whole pork belly skin on, and what did I find when I got home?
Yep, the dagblasted skin had been removed.
How can a guy cook a Porchetta without crispy skin?
He can't, Grrrrr!

So what the hell, I'm gonna do a bastardized version sans skin and see how it comes out.
I bought all the fresh herbs that I don't have in my garden, so I need to utilize them.
Fresh fennel, sage, garlic and lemon, the rest I have.
The only ingredient I could not find was fresh pork liver, guess I can live without it.

The other half of the belly I cubed for Burnt Ends, I know I'll get some satisfaction from them at least.

So here we go with today's smoke.

Menu
Punked Porchetta
PBBEs
Dessert (?)

Punked Porchetta

1 skin-on Pork Belly
1 Pork loin
Fennel fronds and seed
Rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, crushed red pepper, black pepper, salt
Pork liver (optional)
Olive oil
Butchers twine
Trim fat and membrane from half a pork loin
Trim pork belly to fit wrapped around the pork loin
Score the skin of the pork belly, do not cut into the meat
Rub pork belly with salt and then air dry in the fridge for at least 12hrs, 24hrs + is better, this is to help in turning that skin into cracklings
Pull pork belly from fridge, flip meat side up and salt, then spread with minced garlic
Finely chop the herbs/spices and spread atop pork belly
Place pork loin in center and wrap pork belly around it, truss tightly with twine (about every inch or less)
Brush lightly with olive oil

Okay, here is where recipes go all over the place, 'How to Cook It'
Traditional Italian, rotisserie over open fire
Various oven methods, hot then slow, slow then hot and etc

But I'm smoking it, so here is how I did it.
Fired up the smoker to 275°-300° with hickory
I also preheated my oven to 500°
Cooked this to an IT of 145° and then moved it to the oven and crisped the outside
Note: Don't worry about overcooking the loin, it is wrapped in that fatty pork belly and will not dry out.
I got the fat layer to an awesome color and crunch with a beautiful juicy burst of flavor in every bite

Herbs and Spices

Down goes the loin


All trussed up


Out of the smoker and headed for the 500° oven

Finished




The Grand Finale/Slices

Pork Belly Burnt Ends

Cubed pork belly
Pork rub
BBQ sauce
Honey
Butter

Cube the pork belly and cover in rub
I like to bag it overnight before cooking
Fire up the smoker to 250°-275° with hickory
Smoke cubes till nicely tender and colored
Then pan and add, BBQ sauce, honey, butter and rub
Cover and return for about an hour
Then uncover, stir and let'em go another hour

Continuation

For appetizers/side I put together some Tomato/Mozzarella/Basil drizzled with a Balsamic Glace.
These were a hit and I had to refill the plate 3-4 times


Then sauteed some Asparagus and Onion in butter.
(no pics)

A dessert was called for so I made some Apple/Pear Slab Pies.
I practically had to stand guard on these before dinner

Your killing me , No kitchen, l can't evan do eggs and you tun magic out of a mistake, all I can say
is your skills are on on a professional level, awesome work, can't wait to get in my kitchen and cook again

Originally Posted by jollymon

Your killing me , No kitchen, l can't evan do eggs and you tun magic out of a mistake, all I can say
is your skills are on on a professional level, awesome work, can't wait to get in my kitchen and cook again

Thanks man,
you're too kind in your assessment of my limited skills.

Do you have the recipe for the apple pie?
thanks for the recipes
mark

Originally Posted by mgeorge222222

Do you have the recipe for the apple pie?
thanks for the recipes
mark

Sure Mark

Apple/Pear Slab Pies

Preheat oven to 375°

1 box Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry
3 Apples, cored, halved and sliced
3 Pears, cored, halved and sliced
(or cheat and use canned pie fillings)
1/4C lemon juice
3/4 brown sugar
1t cinnamon
4T butter
1 egg beaten for eggwash
nuts (optional)
Powdered sugar glaze (optional)

Remove pastry from box/wrapper and let thaw
Pour lemon juice over fruit, mix to cover, pour off excess
Melt butter, combine with brown sugar and cinnamon
In a skillet combine fruit and sugar mix, cook till fruit is lightly caramelized
Remove from heat and let cool
Lightly flour your work surface and roll out pastry to approx 12"x18"
Cut it in half lengthwise
Fill center of first piece of pastry with fruit leaving a half inch border
Eggwash edges and cover with second piece of pastry, seal edges and cut slits in top
Eggwash whole pastry and either dust heavily with coarse sugar or glaze after cooking
Cook till pastry puffs and is golden brown

Chile-thanks for always doing such a great job with your recipes and pictures. You're doing something you love and you're very good at it. We get to benefit from your hard work, I look forward to your posts.

You are our Chef Emeritus without a doubt. Much appreciated.