Porchetta

Everyone has their Easter traditions. For us, it’s a Heathen Brunch with a combination of good food and questionable taste with regard to the themes surrounding the foods on the table. This year, I threw away the traditional ham idea and instead worked on making my first Porchetta. Porchetta is an Italian skin-on pork belly, generally wrapped around something else – sometimes a pork tenderloin, other times sausage or another savory filling. I was thrilled to see that Tasting Table published the Porchetta recipe from Olympic Provisions in Portland a couple of weeks ago. If you’ve never been to Olympic Provisions, you’re missing out. Their charcuterie is brilliant, and they have a small restaurant setup, where you can dive into more meat than you can possibly consume. This dish is one of my favorites from their repertoire, and it turned out great.

I made minimal substitutions and modifications to this recipe— First, I scored the skin to make it crispier.  Also, when I sliced and seared it Easter Morning, I simmered the maple syrup used for brushing with a few cinnamon sticks and some star anise to add a little more character. Finally, the belly I procured was only about 8lbs, so I didn’t bother cutting it into two roasts. Besides, with the sausage stuffing it’s a feat to roll the damned thing and I didn’t want to do it twice!

The measurements here are a combination of Imperial and metric, and it’s good to use a scale for the sausage prep.

Enjoy. This dish will send everyone running back for more.

Italian Sausage-Stuffed Porchetta

Executive Chef Erin Williams 

Olympic Provisions - Portland, Ore., USA

Yield: 20 servings

Cold water, 1 gal

Kosher salt, 1 C

Sugar, 1/2 C

Pork belly, 10- to 12-Lb  1 each

Olive oil, as needed

Italian sausage  4 Lb (Recipe Below)

Maple syrup (optional)  as needed

Sea salt as needed

Eggs, as needed

Toast, as needed

Instructions:

1. Combine water, salt and sugar. Submerge belly in brine, top with a weight so it stays submerged and refrigerate 24 hours.

2. Remove belly from brine, pat dry, then halve belly crosswise. For each porchetta roast, turn belly skin-side down. Pack 2 pounds sausage down middle of each belly half lengthwise and roll up tightly to form a log. Tie with butcher’s twine. Sear porchetta in olive oil until brown on all sides. Roast in a rotisserie or 375-degree F oven until internal temperature registers 135 degrees F, about 2 hours. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.

3. To serve, slice porchetta crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron pan. Brown porchetta on both sides until crispy and thoroughly warmed through. Glaze with maple syrup (if using), season with sea salt, and serve with eggs and toast.

 

Hey, I want some!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE     

Executive Chef Erin Williams 

Olympic Provisions - Portland, Ore., USA

Yield: 2 kg

Pork shoulder, cubed, 1360 4/5 g

Pork fatback, cubed, 583 1/5 g

Sea salt, fine, 29 1/5 g

Freshly ground black pepper, 9.7 g

Fennel seed, ground, 5 4/5 g

Chili flakes, ground, 4.9 g

Garlic, minced, 3.9 g

Oregano, dried, 3.9 g

Coriander, ground, 9.7 g

Instructions:

1. Combine pork and fatback with salt and spices and marinate overnight. Grind mixture with a coarse-grind die, transfer to a mixer fitted with paddle attachment and mix for 1 to 2 minutes until mixture feels tacky. Refrigerate until needed.

Spice-Braised Pork Belly, Cornmeal Waffle & Quail Egg

Ok, this one takes some work but the results are soooooooo worth it. Another Star Chefs Rising Chef Award winner, Chef Joshua Henderson also used to be a chef-instructor at the Art Institute where I went to culinary school. Unfortunately, I never had him as one of my instructors. 

This dish was my favorite at the Star Chefs event, and I made it the next weekend. It’s one of those recipes that actually worked and ended up tasting just as good at home as it did in a restaurant setting. It's SO SO SO worth the effort.

Spice-Braised Pork Belly, Cornmeal Waffle, and Quail Egg
Joshua Henderson of Skillet Street Food – Seattle, WA
Adapted by StarChefs.com
February 2009

Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients

Wet Brine:
1 gallon water
2 cups sugar
2¼ cups coarse salt
12 juniper berries
12 cloves
6 cinnamon sticks
12 black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
4 pounds pork belly, cut into 6 ounce pieces

Spice-Braised Pork Belly:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups sliced onions
6 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
1 tablespoon allspice
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 quarts beef stock
1 quart apple juice
2 cups brown sugar

Cornmeal Waffle:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt

To Assemble and Serve:
8 quail eggs
Method

For the Wet Brine:
Bring the water to a simmer. Add the sugar and spices and steep for 1 hour. Allow the brine to cool and add the pork belly. Fully submerge for 24 hours. Remove the pork belly and reserve for braising.

For the Spice-Braised Pork Belly:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small roasting pan, heat the olive oil and sweat the onions until translucent. Add the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and thyme and make a paste. Add the remaining ingredients and the pork. The liquid should come about halfway up the pork belly. Remove liquid or add stock as needed. Braise for approximately 2 hours, or until fork tender. Remove the pork belly and strain the braising liquid into a saucepot. Simmer and skim the foam and fat that accumulates while the sauce is reducing. When the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, check seasoning and set aside for service.

For the Cornmeal Waffle:
Preheat the waffle maker. Put all the ingredients in a blender. Cover and process at medium-high speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over-blend. Pour ½ cup of the batter over grids. Close the waffle maker and bake until golden. Repeat with the remaining batter.

To Assemble and Serve:
Fry or poach the quail eggs. Place a waffle on each plate and top with a piece of pork belly. Place an egg on each piece of pork, and drizzle with the reduced braising liquid.