Text 966, 107 rader
Skriven 2008-01-19 23:16:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
Ärende: Blogs 5
===============
MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: The Grocery Guy's Porchetta Pt 1
Categories: Italian, Pork
  Servings: 30

     30 lb piglet
      1    full sized pork loin (the
           length of the piglet torso)
      2    heads of garlic, sliced
      6    fennel tops, chopped
     10    sprigs of rosemary stripped
           from the stems
           Coarse sea salt
           Coarse black pepper
           Also:

A fire pit with spit
A good amount of dry hardwood like applewood
1 heavy cleaver or very heavy butcher knife
1 small saw like a hack saw with a coarse blade
1 Forschner 5 inch semi-stiff boning knife
Baling wire

One of the coolest things I got to help out with during my
apprenticeship at Fleisher's was boning out whole pigs for the
making of porchetta roasts.

What? You've not heard of the mighty porchetta? Well let me tell you
it's A) amazingly delicious and B) nose to tale eating for people
who only cook once a year.

"Yes," I hear you saying, "we've all read about the whole hog roasts
that you've done out at Mark's white trash beach villa on LI.
Will you just shut up about cooking whole animals? Who is ever going
to cook a whole freaking pig no matter how fancy you make it sound
with all those Italian names."

You know what people? You aren't going to cook most of the stuff from
the 240-some posts on this site either but I know your food-tourist
ass is going to read about it anyway, so shut up and stop the
hating.

So what is a porchetta? It's is a whole pig that has had all of it's
bones removed except for it's head, making a sort of floppy pig
suit. The pig cape is then brined in salted water for two to three
days along with the boneless loin (or loins) of another pig.

Once the pork has brined the pig is laid out on it's back, the loin
is put onto one side of the pig's belly along with fennel tops,
rosemary, thyme and garlic and then rolled up like a big porky
joint. Once the pig is rolled and tied it is then strapped to a spit
where it can be slowly rolled over a heat source like cherry or
apple wood logs or for 6-10 hours, rested and then sliced, crossways
to reveal the layers of porky goodness with the fennel and extra
pork loin at the center.

So how do you make one of these things?

OK. Clear some space, a lot of space, for the pig boning. A dining
room table should do fine. You'll probably want to cover it with
some heavy plastic sheeting. Place the pig on the table and have
someone who trusts you hold the rear legs apart with the hogs back
against the table while you take your cleaver and crack the pelvis
and spine down the middle in line with the spine. Use short,
controlled blows. The cleaver should be sharp and heavy, let it do
its work. Your partner should be putting tension on the legs so the
pig splits in half more easily. Do not chop all the way through the
spine or pierce the skin! Be gentle and easy. Do not be in a hurry
or either you, your helper, or the pig will suffer some grave
consequences. Hog split up to the head base?

Sweet. Now take your saw and AFTER cutting around the first joint
above the trotters, saw off all four trotters. Next slice up from
the trotter stumps along the bone to the main bones they connect to.
Next CAREFULLY bone out the leg bones from the legs. Cut around
where the legs attach to the pelvis, you know the one you just split
with a cleaver, and free them from the pelvis socket. Done, without
cutting through the skin? Right, now bone around the pelvis, which
will suck as it is an incredibly convoluted spacial relations test,
and the continue up the spine freeing all the meat and socking away
the bones to be roasted and boiled later to make stock. Hey! Don't
forget to gently steel your knife every 10 minutes or so. Remember,
same 20' angle on both sides and softly. You're just trying to
realign the edge not sharpen it!

OK, you've made it up the spine from the pelvis to the part with the
ribs. Run your knife down each side of each rib, letting the blade
just surf along the sides of the ribs and don't go too deep. Cut
around the ends of the ribs and then run the blade under the rib
side that is still attached to the belly. Now cut around the base of
the rib to sever the connective tissue and twist the rib loose with
a horrible crackling sound.


  From: Http://Groceryguy.Blogspot.Com  
 
MMMMM-------------------------------------------------

Cheers

YK Jim


___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 [NR]
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)