Porchetta!
Anyone who knows me can confirm my affection for pork. So naturally, I am a big fan of porchetta. I have written in the past of my love for the “Roli Roti” Porchetta Sandwich, and I make numerous trips to the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers Market to satisfy my porcine preocupation. I have always wanted to make one, but found it to be a little intimidating. About a month ago, Paul and I purchased a new ‘Weber’ gas grill that I can now confess came about as a result of an ulterior motive on my part. We needed a grill with a rotisserie on it so I could make (you guessed it) porchetta! We bought a “Weber Summit Series” that not only has the rotisserie, but also a few other must-haves like a ‘smoker burner’ and a ‘sear station’. What a beauty! We are as proud and pleased with it as a teenager is with his first car. I have had a few BBQ’s in my time but this one really takes the cake. After a month or so of breaking it in with all the usual BBQ fare, I decided it was time to take the plunge and tackle the elusive object of my obsession. After some googling, I was excited and delighted to find that Thomas Odermatt of “Roli Roti” fame had shared his recipe for porchetta with John T. Edge for his new book, “The Foodtruck Cookbook”. I was still a little intimidated; after all there are some butchering skills involved here. Not that I am a complete slouch on the butcher block, but I really wanted it to be perfect. So I found the perfect solution: I prepared the Thomas Odermatt rub, brought it to my ‘go to’ butcher Walter at Roberts Market in Woodside, and had him marinate the pork belly and wrap and tie it around the boneless pork loin. He prepared it on a Friday afternoon so I could let it sit overnight in the rub. The recipe in the book describes how to cook it in the oven, but we were going to do it on the grill! I searched but could not find any guidance regarding cooking times for porchetta on a BBQ rotisserie, so we decided to just wing it. I am happy to report that it came out perfectly, and here is how we did it. We removed the pork from the refrigerator about an hour prior to cooking. It was a nine pounder, and we planned on cooking it for about 3 hours (20 minutes per pound). I had some corn and onions to grill for a pasta salad, so the grill was already nice and hot. I put the porchetta on the spit and fastened it down while Paul finished up the vegetables. I lit the ‘rotisserie burner element’ and let it get nice and hot, and turned all the other grill burners to their lowest setting. We got a large aluminum tray and set it on the grill, filled it half-full with water, put the porchetta on the spit, said a prayer, and shut the lid. We initially peeked a few times, and it seemed like the exterior was browning nicely and getting a really good sear. After about 15-20 minutes I turned off the rotisserie element, closed the lid, and walked away. We resisted the urge to peek as much as possible. One of the things that impressed me about this grill was the precise temperature control and recovery time after lifting the lid. With all four grill burners at their lowest setting, we were able to maintain an even temperature of 325 degrees. After turning off the rotisserie element I didn’t need to do a darn thing but enjoy the heavenly aroma, and occasionally lift the lid to impress the guests as they started to arrive for dinner. We started checking the internal temperature at about 2 1/2 hours. After 3 hours, we were getting a temperature of 155, and the exterior was well browned and crispy. We took it off the grill suspecting correctly, that the internal temperature would rise to the target temperature of around 165 while resting. Paul sliced it after letting it rest for about 30 minutes. It was done to perfection; the inside was nice and juicy, the pork belly had melted to a butter-like consistency, and the skin nice and crispy. We were six that night for dinner (with one vegetarian at the table), but I think we could have probably served 8-10 people easily. I was glad there were only 6 for dinner, because I was looking forward to sandwiches the next day. On Sunday we couldn’t resist trying to make the sandwich that inspired us in the first place: the ‘Porchetta Sandwich’ from the master of all things porchetta, “Roli Roti”. We heaped the left-over porchetta onto an Acme roll over a bed of arugula and caramelized onions. I have to confess, it was awesome and pretty close in taste to our inspiration. Sometimes I wonder why people share these amazing recipes; it seems like it should be under lock and key, but I am so glad he did. I am pretty sure it won’t impact the frequency of my Saturday morning pilgrimages to the “Roli Roti” truck in any case. If you want to try making your own porchetta I can recommend picking up the book, “The Foodtruck Cookbook” by John T. Edge. There are lots of other great looking recipes in the book in addition to the porchetta recipe. You can also find it on the “7×7.com” website here. I suggest going there and printing it out…it is a ‘keeper’. It is perfect for pork, but I’m sure it would be equally good on chops or tenderloins as well. “Roberts Market” doesn’t offer porchetta, but Walter said he would make it up for you if you give him plenty of lead time. I am planning on making this again soon, and will probably make it often. So if you see smoke, feel free to knock.
Enjoy!
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