This week, we’re super pork-static to have Executive Chef Venoy Rogers III joining us on the Hog Blog. He’s with the American Kitchen Bar & Grill in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. We’re so grateful to have him sharing a delicious recipe for a Sous Vide Heritage Farms Cheshire Pork Porchetta!

After 11+ years of culinary experience and traveling across the country to well-known destinations including Phoenix, Palm Springs, Aspen and Miami Beach to name a few, Chef Rogers found his home at American Kitchen Bar & Grill, leading the restaurants open concept in the Disney Springs area. “My philosophy in the kitchen is to have fun with food and express myself from the heart,” Chef Rogers said. “To make good food you need great ingredients and you need to have some fun doing it.”

Chef Rogers has participated in culinary competitions like the San Diego Bay Food & Wine Fest, as well as the Little Italy Festival, where he won “Best Taste” in 2014. In September 2013, Chef Rogers appeared in an episode of Food Network’s Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell, in which he beat out three other candidates to become the next chef de cuisine in Las Vegas.

Sous Vide Heritage Farms Cheshire Pork Porchetta with Apple and Compressed Fennel Salad

Ingredients:

For the porchetta-

1 Heritage Farms Cheshire Pork Belly
1/2 cup chimichurri
1 ½ lb Heritage Farms Cheshire Pork Rib Meat
2 tbsp BBQ seasoning blend
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp umami butter (plain butter can be substituted)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the apple-fennel salad-

1 fennel bulb (sliced thin on a mandolin)
1 granny smith apple (sliced thin on mandolin)
¼ cup orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
1 tsp fennel fronds (chopped)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions for the salad: Mix all ingredients together and season with salt and pepper

Directions:

In a small bowl, add the rib meat and season with salt + pepper and a small amount of BBQ seasoning (reserve the rest for the outside of the porchetta).

Mix rib meat until completely seasoned and place into a piece of plastic wrap. You can use some meat glue in this process if you are familiar and have it available. If so, now is the time to sprinkle about 2 teaspoons onto the rib meat.

Roll up the rib meat nice and tight with the plastic wrap to form a cylinder, about the length of your pork belly is wide (think cookie dough tube).

Either with or without the meat glue the next step is to chill the rib so that it holds its shape when rolling up the porchetta. 30 minutes in the freezer should do the trick.

While your rib meat is chilling, gently score the meat side of your belly and rub in ¼ cup of the chimichurri, salt + pepper, and BBQ seasoning.

Remove rib meat from the freezer and unwrap. Place the chilled rib meat tube onto the meat side of the belly from top to bottom or shortest length.

Roll the pork belly around the rib meat and cut just past the overlap. Make sure that its tight and ensure this by trussing the whole thing with butchers twine.

Once your porchetta is all tied up you want to use the remaining seasoning and chimichurri to coat the outside. Place the porchetta into the fridge and allow to cool down and firm up (this will help keep the shape before vacuum sealing).

Place chilled porchetta into a vacuum bag along with soy sauce and butter and seal.

Heat your water bath to 150 degrees and cook for 36 hours. Remove porchetta from the bag and reserve the liquid.

Now you have a few options for getting the skin golden brown and crispy. 1) A deep fat fryer will do the trick. 2) In a medium hot pan with small amount of cooking oil (not olive oil) sear the porchetta on all sides until browned and crispy. 3) Using your ovens broiler you can brown the skin, making sure to rotate the porchetta throughout the process for and even cook.

You can skip the sous vide method and go conventional by wrapping the porchetta in greased aluminum foil or covered roasting pan and baking in the oven at 350 degrees F for 2 hours and 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Uncover for the last 30 minutes of cooking.

You can also use a slow cooker with a small amount of water on low temp for 8-10 hours. If you are using the slow cooker method you will need to follow the same last step as the sous vide cooking method.