Living in Philadelphia, I am asked rather frequently as to where one can purchase a good cheesesteak. My common response to this inquiry is for the person asking to forget about the cheesesteak and go for a roast pork instead. It is a far superior sandwich, one which the city should be known for. A cheesesteak is over-cooked beef with processed cheese and questionable onions. If you're drunk or hungover it's fantastic, it does the trick. It fills you up and makes you feel worse about yourself. But you're of sound mind it can't possibly sound like a good idea. A roast pork sandwich, however, is made with slow-roasted pork shoulder, tangy sharp provolone cheese, sauteed broccoli rabe and roasted long hot peppers. Much time and attention is put into making this thing. This is a thinking man/woman's sandwich, something to be admired. So if you find yourself in Philly craving a bunch of meat and cheese in an Italian roll here are the three best place, in my opinion, to get a roast pork sandwich: 1) Tommy Dinic's in the Reading Terminal Market, 2) John's Roast Pork at 14 Snyder Ave., 3) Tony Luke's at 39 East Oregon Ave.
Anyway, this dish is my interpretation of one of my favorite sandwiches. It has all of the same components, in a composed dish. When you tasted everything on this plate together it tasted just like a roast pork sandiwch, maybe even a little better.
I used a 3 pound pork loin here, brining it for 3 days in a sugar and salt cure before slow roasting it at 300 degrees for 3 hours. I basted it with pork fat every 30 minutes. I let it sit for 30 minutes before carving it into pieces which were covered in pork fat and left overnight.
I made the puree with green chilis that I fire-roasted and peeled. I pureed them with a little creme-fraiche which mellowed the heat just a little.
I made a croquette out of the fontina, which is very similar to an aged provolone. I simply breaded cubes of the cheese with panko bread crumbs, froze them and then fried them.
I used bok choy in place of the traditional broccoli rabe because I just like it better. Rabe is a little to bitter for my liking. Plus, this bok choy had some beautiful yellow flowers that I thought would add some color and a fresh vegetable crunch to the dish. I blanched the bok before sauteeing it in pork fat with some sliced garlic.
Product:
Pasture-raised Pork Loin - Stryker Farms
Flowering Bok Choy, Organic - Queen's Farm
Anyway, this dish is my interpretation of one of my favorite sandwiches. It has all of the same components, in a composed dish. When you tasted everything on this plate together it tasted just like a roast pork sandiwch, maybe even a little better.
I used a 3 pound pork loin here, brining it for 3 days in a sugar and salt cure before slow roasting it at 300 degrees for 3 hours. I basted it with pork fat every 30 minutes. I let it sit for 30 minutes before carving it into pieces which were covered in pork fat and left overnight.
I made the puree with green chilis that I fire-roasted and peeled. I pureed them with a little creme-fraiche which mellowed the heat just a little.
I made a croquette out of the fontina, which is very similar to an aged provolone. I simply breaded cubes of the cheese with panko bread crumbs, froze them and then fried them.
I used bok choy in place of the traditional broccoli rabe because I just like it better. Rabe is a little to bitter for my liking. Plus, this bok choy had some beautiful yellow flowers that I thought would add some color and a fresh vegetable crunch to the dish. I blanched the bok before sauteeing it in pork fat with some sliced garlic.
Product:
Pasture-raised Pork Loin - Stryker Farms
Flowering Bok Choy, Organic - Queen's Farm