Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Porchetta Party, Baby!

Porchetta Party

Porchetta with Pan Sauce
 
The old gang is together again, this time for a PORCHETTA PARTY, BABY! Father Adam and I fell in love with porchetta at the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco and have been craving it ever since. The folks at Foodbuzz invited us to participate in their 24, 24, 24 event this month which showcases posts from 24 Foodbuzz Featured Publisher bloggers, highlighting 24 unique meals occurring around the globe during a 24-hour period.
The timing could not have been more perfect. Father Adam recently relocated to Southern California, and our dear friend Chef Allison is visiting from Washington, so we decided to throw a Porchetta Party, inviting our old friends who we worked with in the restaurant industry during the 1980’s. We were restaurant chefs, managers, waiters, and bartenders – all with fond memories of the business.
pork + restaurant people = party!
menu
porchetta pecan salad, yuzu garlic dressing
porchetta with pan sauce
pickled fennel
roasted root vegetables, white truffle oil
pavlova with mixed berries, chai lavender syrup
BRISTOL FARMS MARKET

I pre-ordered a pork shoulder butt from Bristol Farms in Rolling Hills, California the week before our event from their butcher, Shawn.

Shawn waited until I arrived to cut the pork shoulder to my specifications.

Shawn’s skills were impressive.

Removing the leg bone.

The prepared butterflied pork shoulder with skin!
I had intended to leave Bristol Farms with a 4 pound roast, but this butterflied shoulder weighed 14 lbs. Shawn graciously offered to cut it into smaller portions but I said, “No way!” I’ll take the fourteen pounds…and the extra skin and bone! We made 2 porchetta roasts and froze the remaining 5 lbs. of meat for another party in the future.
LATER THAT NIGHT

Once I got that baby home and in the refrigerator, I dashed off to LAX airport to pick up Allison. We would be prepping into the night to get ready for the Porchetta Party!

First, Allison harvested some fruit from my yuzu tree.

Then we prepared the herb seasoning using a recipe similar to Judy Rodger’s in her excellent Zuni Cafe Cookbook.
  • capers
  • yuzu zest (Rodgers uses lemon)
  • garlic
  • fresh sage
  • fresh rosemary
  • fennel seeds
  • cracked black pepper

The pork is salted and the seasoning mixture is pressed into the meat. The pork butt is reformed into its natural shape.

Allison ties up the roast with kitchen twine (swine-twine). Black pepper and fennel seeds are rubbed on the outside.

A masterpiece!
Refrigerate overnight (or up to 3 days).
PARTY TIME

Tori and Tom arrived in time to help prepare the salad, first by toasting the pecans.

Yuzu Garlic Salad Dressing
  • 1/4 c. fresh yuzu juice
  • 1 c. extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 t. fresh yuzu zest
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • sea salt
  • fresh ground pepper
Put all ingredients into a jar and shake vigorously.

Porchetta Pecan Salad
Julienned Porchetta, Chopped Toasted Pecans
Yuzu Garlic Dressing
Baby Heirloom Tomatoes
Roasted Garlic Onion Jam Crostini
PORCHETTA TIME!

Such a beautiful roast! (We learned it is pronounced porketta). We seared the entire outside of the roast in a hot roasting pan. Then placed a rack in that same pan, placed the roast on the rack, cooking in a 350° oven until the internal temperature reached 140°. The roast rested, tented with foil, while the pan sauce was prepared.

Pork Stock

  • Pork Leg Bone
  • Onion
  • Carrot
  • Celery
  • Bay Leaves
  • Parsley
Roast the bone, onion, celery and carrot until caramelized. Transfer to a stock pot, cover with water, boil, add bay leaves and parsley. Reduce heat and simmer for a few hours.
IT’S DONE!

Allison, Father Adam, and Lori Lynn marvel at the roast!

Pan Sauce
Skim fat from drippings in roasting pan. Deglaze pan with vermouth, scraping up the browned bits. Add homemade pork stock (from stock pot). Reduce by half. Strain. Return to a sauce pan and thicken with flour. Adjust seasonings.
TABLE SETTING
CELEBRATING THE PIG!

Wine with Swine
  • MarkHAM Chardonnay – Napa Valley 2006
  • Cambria Julia’s Vineyard – Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2007
  • Vieux Chateau Perey – Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2005

Porcine Porte-couteaux!

Happy Together!
Tori, Lori Lynn & Allison
Paparazzo

Saucing the Plate

Porchetta and Pan Sauce

Tom and Father Adam pose with pork.

Pickled Fennel
  • 1 1/2 c. white balsamic vinegar
  • 3/4 c. sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 t. black peppercorns
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 T. pickling spice
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan, boil then simmer for 20 minutes, strain, and pour liquid over 2 thinly sliced fennel bulbs. Let come to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Roasted Vegetables with White Truffle Oil

Roasted Root Vegetables
  • Golden Beets
  • Turnips
  • Rutabaga
  • Celeriac
  • Baby Red Potatoes
  • Carrots
Peel and cut vegetables in a large dice. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a single layer at 400°F until caramelized and tender.

Garnish with White Truffle Oil
DESSERT

Pavlova with Mixed Berries
Non-Fat Greek Yogurt
Chai Lavender Syrup

Porchetta + Pavlova = Paradise

Please stop by Taste With the Eyes later this week for the Phenomenal Pavlova recipe!
THE FOLLOWING DAY

Porchetta and Aebleskiver Brunch
Fresh Pineapple Juice Mimosas

Porchetta and Apple Aebleskiver

More about aebleskivers later this week on Taste With The Eyes.

Leftover Porchetta Roast

Reheat porchetta in a sauté pan and serve with aebleskivers and pineapple mimosas.
(we’re not done yet)
THE FOLLOWING NIGHT

Porchetta Panini

Panini filled with Shaved Porchetta
with Yuzu Ricotta and Pickled Fennel
Pork Jus

Pork Cracklin’ Snacks
THE SWINE IS DIVINE

“Porchetta, Yum!”

36 thoughts on “Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Porchetta Party, Baby!”

  1. This is amazing. I love the journey and all that beautiful cooking. The photos are absolutely gorgeous! Well done. 🙂

  2. LL – I guess my invite got lost in the mail? 😉 What a GREAT 24,24,24! I love how you made so many different dishes out of one meat. We made pulled pork for the first time last week and were pretty pleased with our effort but wow – gosh darn, this totally takes the cake! Stunning pictures, as always!

  3. That looks like such a fun (and delicious) party! Pork is such a wonderfully, versatile meat and you really played it up well.

  4. You all must be oinking by now after 2 days of porchetta meals. Every element of every meal looks delicious — and I loved your 'swine' rhyming throughout. Great fun! Congratulations on a great 24, 24, 24!

  5. Wow, the porchetta looks amazing and I love all the dishes you created with it for the next day's brunch & dinner! Fantastic!

  6. Soup to nuts – just pig-pork exquisite. I worked in the food industry "back in the day." Does that qualify me for an invite? I'd be happy with the leftovers. I also want more on the pavlova…. (that's a hint).

  7. LL, a fab evening – from porchetta to pavlova! I roasted a whole shoulder this past Christmas – one of the most satisfying meals.

    Congrats on a spectacular 24 Dinner.

  8. wow! we had fun didn't we? FA, i miss you already! soon i will be making a porchetta sandwich for my road. trip, too much porchetta? never!

  9. The swine and the wine and the time were so fine.

    Yes, Allison, I agree. You can never have to much porchetta.

    Thanks for hosting us Lori Lynn! You are the quintessential hostess.

  10. I always love reading your posts! And this one was outstanding … lovely dinner … brunch … panini … cracklin pork snacks … are you sure that was it? Cause I could go for more!!

  11. Yum, I felt like that when I picked up my heirloom turkey at thanksgiving and it was 15 pounds, and only two of us!

    I want picked fennel now!

  12. So cool to see all of you in your chef jackets. That Foodbuzz porchetta was out of this world! Bet you'll be having it often now that you've given it a shot at home.

  13. Lori, Thanks for making tori and I a part of your PORK 24,24,24 we loved it and you. Our invite did not get lost thankgoodness. Kisses and hugs all around for another great adventure in meat. TNT

  14. Ohhhh! What a sublime event! Just love it all so much! Must have been delicious and the fun of cooking together? just amazing. Best from montecito where it is still raining?

  15. I love love LOOOOVVEEEE Porchetta! What a fabulous party you put together and I love how your table is always tastefully decorated!

  16. This is quite a feast! I'm so excited reading this post, I'd like to replicate porchetta for a special occasion. I'm impressed that you have a yuzu tree!

  17. Piggy paradise! What a fab idea. This goes on my food bucket list for sure. You could do a whole sub blog on what to do with 14 pounds of tasty pork products!

  18. Really marvelous dishes-I also made this last year using the Zuni Cafe cookbook, Judy Rodgers is such an instructive writer.

  19. Dear Friends – thank you for all your kind comments.

    Unfortunately, in the process of launching this new site, we lost some comments along the way. So, if you don’t see your comment here, I apologize that it is irretrievable. I did get to read it, and appreciate your remarks and input, as always!

    Thank you for your continued support. YAY for the new site! See you soon!
    Lori Lynn

  20. Wow I’m impressed. Porchetta is a specialty of the region around Rome, especially the town of Ariccia. I’ve never attempted to make one at home but yours looks stupendous.

  21. This is amazing — the journey, the people, the food. You can see how much genuinely went into this Porchetta Party! Good job, you are very inspiring. I think I’ll actually try to make this at home, you make it look so good!

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