Porchetta on the Big Green Egg

This weekend I decided to experiment with a Pork Belly Porchetta recipe and play around with my new Lytro camera. 


I wanted to give the Porchetta a Cebu Lechon flavor so this time around I'm going to add lemon grass along with some citrus flavor and other ingredients.
 


I sourced the pork belly from my local butcher, Tom. This is one thing I hate about big box grocery stores in that it's hard to gain access to custom cuts...but I digress.


In order to get that sought after crispy pig skin I discovered you needed two things. One is to score the skin in order to release some of the pork fat. I found that a microplane meat tenderizer from William Sonoma was a perfect tool for this. You can free style it with a knife but it will take longer and you won't get that consistency that the tool provides. Besides, it was a good excuse to get a medieval looking kitchen tool. The second thing you'll need is to rub the skin down with a combination of 2 tablespoons of kosher salt with 1 teaspoon of baking powder. This has something to do with changing the acidity of the skin, blah, blah, blah (always been poor with chemistry - but if you must know, you can always Google it). 

Step 1 - Mix your herbs and spices. 

I used some lemon grass, garlic, shallots, rosemary, thyme, lemon/orange zest, peppercorn, adobo spice & Slap Ya Mama seasoning. I really don't give out exact measurements because you should learn how to personalize recipes once you get a general idea. If you really must have the exact proportions, drop me a line and I'll post it.

Step 2 - Tenderize the skin

Be careful when you score the skin. Your hand will be slippery from working with the pork. Don't be stingy when you score the skin. Go medeval!



Rub the mixture of salt and baking powder once you've finished scoring the skin.

Step 3 - Score the belly

Flip the pork over so that the skin side is down. This time score the meat with a knife. I find that a cross hatch pattern works best. Start on a diagonal cut about 2" apart and then work the other way about 90 deg until you get a diamond pattern. Try to avoid cutting all the way to the skin.

Step 4 - Add the spices 

Before adding your spice mixture, squeeze out a lemon and 2 limes to flavor the pork. Then
poured the mixture in the middle and rub the spices with your hands ensuring that you get into the crevices.

Step 5 - Tie the Porchetta

Using butcher's twine, tie the porchetta...obviously skin side up :). You can keep the twine in one piece our you can cut up several strips to accomplish this.

Step 6 - Refrigerate overnight

It's best to refrigerate the porchetta overnight so that the pork absorbs the flavors. Note that I also cut the roll in half since I can't fit the entire thing on the Big Green Egg. Besides, I can  freeze half and enjoy it at a later time.

Step 7 - Prep the Big Green Egg

I set up the Big Green Egg for indirect cooking and got the temperature up to 300 F. I used a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature reached  160 F. The cook time at this temperature was around 2 hours while basting the pork every 30 mins. In the first 30 mins, I used olive oil and the following ones, I based it with it's natural juices. 


Once the internal temperature reached 160 F. I increased the temperature to 500 F to crisp up the skin. This will take an additional 30 minutes. To test the skin, tap it with your finger. If it's crispy, it will make a thumping noise.

Step 8 - Finished Product

When it's finished, tent it and let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.