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
https://i.imgur.com/jZldjcM.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qHvVOyI.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/r7NthJJ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uHued9W.jpg
