Recipe: Porcetta sandwiches

I haven’t posted a recipe in a while. It’s mainly because most of the things I’ve been cooking lately are recipes going into my cookbook (which, I might add, is slated to publish in May). So, of course, in order to entice you to buy the cookbook, I can’t be posting them all over the web, right?Well, here’s a recipe that isn’t going into my cookbook. Why? Because I’ve pretty much finished writing my cookbook! (Huzzah for that!) I did, however, make this on Sunday to feed some friends that came over to watch the Texans football game. (Our loss to the Patriots is not to be mentioned, please.) I was trying to come up for ideas on what to serve during the game, and I’d learned that the Pittsburgh Steelers serve an Italian roasted pork sandwich at their stadium. This sounded delicious and hearty, especially for a cold winter’s day (yes, it does get cold in Houston). I tried to find broccoli rabe for this dish but my unfortunate local grocery store did not carry any broccoli rabe. In fact, the employee said, “Broccoli what?” Sigh. But improvisation is the beast of the kitchen, and if “MasterChef” has taught me a damn thing, it’s how to improvise and smile while doing it.So I used mustard greens instead, but I think I would try a different green next time if I still can't find broccoli rabe since the mustard greens were a little too bitter and pungent for the finesse of the pork and provolone.Roasting pork can pose a challenge even for some of the more experienced home cooks. I was worried the pork would turn out dry and untasty. This concern was escalated when my digital thermometer did not beep once it hit 135°F—apparently the beeping function was turned off—but to my gleeful delight, the pork still turned out moist, and the sandwiches were a hit (even though our Texans weren’t).

Recipe: Roasted Pork Sandwich

Ingredients

1. 3 lbs. pork shoulder or butt
2. 8 cloves garlic, minced & divided
3. 1 bunch fresh rosemary sprigs
4. 1 bunch fresh thyme sprigs
5. 2 tbsp. Olive oil
6. Salt & pepper to taste
7. 1/2 c. Chicken broth
8. 1/2 c. Dry white wine
9. 1 lb. Broccoli rabe, washed & stems removed
10. 1/2 tsp. Red pepper flakes
11. 2 rolls crusty Italian bread
12. 1/2 lb. Provolone cheese, sliced

Instructions

1. In a sm. Bowl, mix together 6 minced garlic cloves, rosemary leaves, thyme leaves, and 1 tbsp. olive oil.
2. Liberally salt and pepper the pork. Spread garlic and herb mixture over pork. Place pork in a roasting pan, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hr., preferably overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 400°f. Insert a digital thermometer into the roast. Pour 1/4 c. Chicken broth and 1/4 c. White wine into the roasting pan, cover with foil, and roast until internal temperature reads 135°F to 150°F, approx. 60 to 90 min., uncovering and pouring remaining chicken broth and wine halfway through cooking.
4. Meanwhile, heat 3 qts. water to a boil and blanche broccoli rabe; drain, dry, and roughly chop.
5. Once pork has reached desired internal temperature, remove from oven and let rest for 10 min.
6. Meanwhile, in a sauté pan, sauté remaining garlic and red pepper flakes over med.-high heat until fragrant. Add broccoli rabe and sauté until tender. Add jus, salt & pepper to taste.
7. Slice pork, discarding any chunks of fat. Place pork slices in a casserole dish and pour jus over the meat..
8. Toast bread slices. Assemble sandwiches: place provolone slice on top of a bread slice, add pork, top with broccoli rabe and another bread slice.

Number of servings (yield): 12