“Braciole is a thin cut of meat that is spread with a stuffing, rolled and tied up, then braised. Sometimes in tomato sauce or in some other other liquid or ragout. Chances are that if you have eaten or made braciole it was made with beef, such as flank steak or maybe a veal cutlet. But almost anything can be used, even thin cuts of fish. Using the skin from a pork butt is a very ethnic preparation, which I had not tried until my Sicilian cooking buddy Domanico made it for me. I was hooked. Being fond of roasting a whole bone in Boston Butt, either in the oven porchetta style or on the Weber grill, I bought one and removed the skin in order to have a super fresh skin to use.
When I describe this recipe to someone who hasn’t tried it ias ‘pork pudding’ because when it is cooked correctly the structure of the skin breaks down to yield a soft gelatinous texture. The contrast of this with the stuffing is a unique taste experience. The stuffing can be made according to your taste but always has a base of bread crumbs, to which dried or fresh herbs and cheese can be added. Nuts or raisins can also be used. Here I add fresh rosemary and mint, grated pecorino Romano, and plenty of chopped garlic in the stuffing. I always save my stale focaccia and pieces of uneaten pizza crust that I process into the breadcrumbs. This adds a little more flavor than store bought or white bread crumbs.”
Ingredients:
A skin from a pork butt, about 9 inches X 12 inches. You can have your butcher do this for you.
1 cup of bread crumbs
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh mint leaves, chopped
¼ cup of grated pecorino Romano cheese (or parmesan)
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 quart of homemade tomato sauce (or store bought if you must)
Procedure:
Put the tomato sauce into a saucepan wide enough to accommodate the rolled up pork skin and bring it to a simmer, covered.
Lay the pork skin, skins side down, fat layer facing up, on a work surface and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs and galic in a medium bowl and combine thoroughly. Mix in a tablespoon of olive oil and a little more to give the stuffing a moist consistancy. The amount you add will depend on how moist the breadcrumbs used were. You can add a little milk if necessary, but stuffing should be dry enough to allow it to absorb some of the pork fat during cooking. Like when you are stuffing a bird.
Spread the stuffing evenly on the pork rind, then starting from one end, roll up the whole thing. All pork skins are slightly different so you just have to figure out the geometry for that skin. When it is tightly rolled, tie it up with butchersw twine or thread. Tie off the two ends first, then add two or three more ties, evenly spaced in between.
Transfer the roll up braciole to the saucepan with the simmering sauce. It should be at least ⅔ covered in the sauce. I often add to the volume of the sauce with some stock. You may especially want to do this if the tomato sauce is very thick, which some jarred sauces are. It is fine if the braciole is completely covered. CAUTION: if you are tempted to brown the braciole before adding it to the sauce DO NOT. The skin will explode in the hot oil.
Cover the pan and let the braciole braise for several hours at a slow to moderate simmer. Turn it and move it around after 5 minutes or so to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. You especially have to monitor this occasionally as it continues to braise and begins to soften, making it more likely to stick.
After at least two hours, check to see how tender it is by putting a for into it. Don’t attempt to eat it until you are sure the collagen and fat have broken down compleatly. For me this takes about 2-3 hours.
When it is done, remove it to a cutting board and slice into approximately 3 inch pieces. Then plate these topped with extra sauce.
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