
It’s all about the pork
Today we begin our 3-week course in pork. I didn’t think it was possible, but I may have been just a bit
more excited about the pork than I was with the beef. Seriously. This was super fun and I can’t wait to begin my own R & D at home.
Here are the items we prepared today:
- Dry Rub for Boston Butt and Ribs
- Ground the Picnic Ham for Sausage
- Italian Sausage for the Porchetta
- Brine for the Hams
- Cure for Bacon
- Skin for Poaching (Pork Rinds)
- Assemble Porchetta for Tuesday
I have a few recipes that will be going along with the above items but I figured it would be good to give you a run down of what we did today and when we actually cook off the meats and create the sides for them, I will provide the recipes. Just remember that I have not tested out the recipes yet either so they may need some adjustments, which I fully anticipate will be happening over the course of the summer!
Most everyone took turns sawing off various parts of the pig. I opted to observe but I did get to prepare the seasonings for the Italian Sausage and I also cut away the skin from one of the hams because we will be making Pork Rinds, or Chicharrones if you’re of the latin persuasion.
I watched as they put the bacon cure on the pork belly (bacon), tied off the hams, ground the picnic ham fat and all, and I watched them place the hams in the brine for further curing. To finish off the day, Chef stuffed the Italian Sausage inside of the pork loin (not to be confused with the tenderloin) and the bacon/belly, with skin intact to make a cracklin’ crust. It’s going to be roasted and then sliced like deli meat.
Here’s what you can expect for Tuesday’s menu and update:
- Cook the Porchetta in the Combi Oven
- Smoke the ribs and Boston Butt for 1 hour
- Make fresh pasta
- Make a puttanesca Sauce
- Poach skin for Pork Rinds
Hope you like pork and I hope you enjoy the next few weeks because I know I will!