Rotisserie Pork

Here is a short video of the pork on the Rotisserie.

We went to a charity event: Alex’s Lemonade Stand. This is one of the premier food charity events with chefs from all over the country cooking. We had a Rotisserie Pork Sandwich that was absolutely fantastic. I decided I wanted to try making a pork roast on the rotisserie. Only problem was that I didn’t have a rotisserie.

I didn’t know exactly what to do but I decided to Google Rotisserie and Weber (we have a Weber Grill, in addition to the Egg). To my surprise, I found out that Weber made a Rotisserie Attachment. I ordered it via Amazon and it promptly arrived. I had never used one, and I then Googled “rotisserie” to get some ideas how to best use it.

We coated the pork with Fennel Rub that Mozza2Go sells. It is an excellent choice for pork. The key was cooking by an indirect method, without having the coals directly under the pork, low and slow. We studded the pork with slivered garlic and placed it on the spit. It actually is easier to use a rotisserie then to grill, because you don’t have to watch it as closely. Simply have an estimate of how long the pork should take per pound (about 20 minutes) and occasionally glance at the rotisserie to make sure the coals were still hot adding more if needed. When the allotted time was up we checked the temperature with an instant read meat thermometer, and continued to cook until the pork reached the temperature we were looking for (about 160).

It was great! We look forward to rotissering lamb and chicken in the future.

We invited Tom and Bea to join us for the dinner. We started with a new recipe for us: Mascarpone-Parmesan Polenta from the The Balthazar Cookbook by McNally, Nasr, Hanson. Because the pork took longer to cook then we expected, we served the polenta as a first course. I thought (especially when we re-heated the polenta) that it had a slightly sour taste that I didn’t particularly like. I don’t think we will make it again. The dinner, was a huge success we all loved the pork. With the pork we served Cauliflower that we bought at Forage. For dessert we had an absolutely amazingly rich Chocolate Carmel Tart from Proof. Boy was it good! 

It was an amazing night. Perfect.

For some people, polenta will only ever taste as good as what comes with it. But this version, with mascarpone and Parmesan, can stand on its own, as well as complement most meat dishes. The basic technique yields soft polenta, to be served in mounds; frying or grilling it produces firm pieces. Grilled polenta requires chilling, so start well in advance.

SERVES   6

2         cups Chicken Stock

2         cups whole milk

2         cups half-and-half

2         cups dry cornmeal polenta

8         tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in pieces

1         cup mascarpone

1/2  pound grated Parmesan (about 1 cup)

1/4  teaspoon salt

1/8  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan. Keep warm over a medium flame.

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and half-and-half to a foamy simmer. Reduce the flame to medium and add the polenta to the foaming milk mixture, stir­ring continuously. When the mixture begins to thicken, begin adding the hot stock, 1/2 cup at a time. As with risotto, let the stock absorb completely before adding the next 1/2 cup, stirring all the while.

When all of the stock has been added, reduce the flame to low and add the butter, mascarpone, and Parmesan, stirring well to blend. If the consistency overall is too thick, add a bit of milk or stock. Stir in the salt and pepper.

Spoon-serve immediately or grill in the following manner: Spread the soft polenta in a buttered casserole dish or sheet pan and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Cut 3-inch circles from the cooled pan and either pan-fry in 2 tablespoons of oil or grill, lightly brushed with oil.