Sunday, October 3, 2010

Porchetta di Testa






After I shaved and cleaned this head it was deboned. 

I had rosemary, sage, thyme, parley, and oregano growing in the garden so I Finley chopped them with garlic and lemon zest.  This marinated for 2 days in the refrigerator.
Following Chef Cosentino's video to the T, I tried to tie this thing up as best as I could.  The ears were folded in the tung was left in the middle to add more meat.  It took forever and a few blisters but It was tight. I then vacuum sealed it in plastic, then put the whole thing in a stock pot for 14 hours to poach at 190 degrees F.

It was put directly in the refrigerator and chilled for 2 days.  I was sure I did something wrong, when I cut in to it and saw this beautiful mosaic of pork, I must say I was proud. 

The two big fatty parts with light pink running through are the jowls, the dark pink peaces are the toung, the squiggly white lines are the ears and you can see the herbs throughout along with the gelatin kind of like head cheese.  The smell of this thing right out of the fridge was awesome.  but tasting it cold with some olive oil and parmigianoreggiano and basil was unctuous porky heaven.  The mouth feel was so silky.to the bread it also was excellent.



2 comments:

  1. That porchetta looks awesome! I'm jealous! I got to pick up a whole pig one one day when I have room in my freezers!

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  2. I looked up that Farm you got that berkshire from. Expensive ha? If you get the whole hog it is much cheaper and I forces you to play with other parts of the animal! Clean that freezer out and give it a go!

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