TOTAL TIME: Preparation time in brine – 24 hours plus 25 minutes, Cooking time 2 hours 15 minutes SERVES: 6-8
Accessories: Big Green Egg Dual Probe Remote Thermometer and Quick Read Digital Pocket Thermometer
Ingredients:
Brine:
- 2 lt water
- 140 gr salt
- 80 gr sugar
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 2x bay leaves
Stuffing:
- 250 gr mushrooms
- 2x shallots or 1x brown onion
- 3 tablespoons butter
- Pinch of nutmeg
- 2x pink lady apples
- 70 gr prosciutto crudo
- Fresh thyme
Pork Roll:
- 1,5 – 1,8 kg pork belly (ribs removed and trimmed)
- Fresh thyme
- Salt and black pepper
- 3x bay leaves
- 300 gr rainbow carrots, halved
- 2x pink lady apples, halved
Method:
- Combine the ingredients for the brine in a large pot and bring to the boil. Remove from heat, leave to cool and place the pork belly in the brine. Refrigerate overnight.
- Remove the pork belly from the brine on the day of cooking. Pat dry and set aside.
- Ready your Big Green Egg by filling the fire ring ¾ with Big Green Egg All Natural Lump Charcoal. Use GreenFire eco firelighters and light the coals.
- Allow the coals to get red hot, then position the convEGGtor and place your grid on top.
- Close the egg and allow the temperature to reach 220 degrees celsius. In the meantime, prepare the pork roll.
- Finely slice the mushrooms and shallots, to make the Duxelle. Heat the butter in a saucepan and saute the mushrooms and onion, until the water from the mushrooms have cooked out (approximately 5 – 7 min). Add a pinch of nutmeg, mix through, and set aside.
- Core the apples and chop fine, leaving the skin on. Set aside.
- Carefully place the prosciutto on a grill tray and grill in the oven or on the EGG using the Half Moon Cast Iron Plancha Griddle until crispy. Set aside.
- Place the pork belly skin side down, on a piece of plastic wrap.
- Spread the duxelle over the pork belly (meat side) and follow with chopped apple. Layer the crispy prosciutto over the apple.
- Working from one side, pull the plastic wrap up and start to roll the pork belly. Neatly roll the meat into a joint surrounded by the skin then use butchers’ string to tie the joint tightly at regular intervals to hold it together. Some filling may fall out, but you can press it back with your fingers, after you secured the roll with string.
- Place the pork roll in a Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven , season with salt and black pepper and brush with olive oil.
- Position your dish on the grid of the egg and close the lid. Leave to cook for 2 hours, at 180 degrees Celsius.
- After 1,5 hours of cooking time, arrange a few sprigs of fresh thyme, the bay leaves, halved apples and carrots in the baking dish. Close the lid to finish the 2 hour cooking time.
- Test the internal temperature of the meat with the Quick Read Digital Pocket Thermometer. The internal temperature of cooked pork is between 65 – 70 degrees Celsius, if it’s reached this your meat will be cooked.
- If you decide to crisp the skin up a bit more, then cook the pork roll an extra 15 min in the egg with the lid closed. Open the vents just slightly to increase the temperature to 250 degrees Celsius, to help crisp the skin and to finish the vegetables.
- Remove from Egg, leave to rest for a few minutes before slicing it and enjoying it with your choice of starch.
Insider’s Tips: Add your choice of veggies or parboiled potatoes after 1,5 hours of cooking time. Any leftover filling you might have can be added to the baking dish for the last 30 minutes of cooking time, for the base of a delicious gravy. Add some beef stock, wholegrain mustard and a touch of cream to the hot dish after you removed the meat, and enjoy on your choice of starch.
To perfect this recipe, invest in a Dual Probe Remote Thermometer.
Recipe courtesy of Anina Meyer of Anina’s Recipes.
