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Thursday, February 26, 2009

The Fool's Pappy's Inaugural Post - Rotisserized Pork Roast


**Editors note - This is the first contribution by the Fool's Pappy, now a fellow GrillinFool, to GrillinFools.com. I have to say he did a phenomenal job. The grilling is the easy part. Taking pictures of the process with a crappy digital camera so that they look as good as the shot above is the hard part. If you want to read more about how he prepared and grilled what is in the money shot above please click the link below...


The roast was caught on sale at a local grocer and as you can see is ‘netted’. Occasionally this is offered in half at sale pricing and you could purchase and tie together with butcher twine yourself and save a bit of cash.

Ingredients: Pork Roast, Garlic Cloves (sliced thin), sliced Red Onion, and KC Sweet and Smoky Rub (courtesy Master Raichlen).

Prep: Once the garlic and onion were sliced and the rod inserted I then placed the garlic and onion in between the pieces of roast **Editors note - as you can see below he left the garlic and onion slices sticking out in order to show where he was able to insert them between the two roasts. After the shot was taken he stuffed them all the way into the space between the two roasts.**

And then sprinkled rub liberally all over the roast:

Grill: Stainless Steel Barrel fabricated circa 1970 by G-fool’s Grandpa Russ. Russ is no longer with us but his memory lives on each time we utilize the grill he made and passed on to G-fool’s Pappy ( to be inherited by G-fool when Pappy moves on ). Many slabs of ribs were enjoyed over the years grilled at his lakeside home. We know he would be proud to see the grill still in use and treasured by us:


Coals were prepared and a simple drip pan created from aluminum foil was placed under the roast. I guess this achieves sort of a semi-indirect method:


Smoking Wood: For this one I discovered I was out of apple chips which I normally use (good prep eh?) but decided to use a blend of soaked wood chips I had consisting of sassafras, hickory, wild cherry, and apple. The flavor was quite tasty but I still prefer apple or cherry alone. Here is the loin on the rotisserie in the grill:

Soaked wood chips were added and the lid went down. I checked it about every 30 mins. to add additional charcoal and wood chips. This left significant time to enjoy a glass or two of a nice everyday white wine I’d recently found—Wine 4 Chillin’—at World Market. Believe it or not it was a box wine and wasn’t’ bad at all. They also offer a red blend—Wine 4 Grillin’—which is really nice (we had this one super Bowl Sunday). I’ve often been a fan of 'premium’ box wines and I’ve had many disagreements with G-fool about them but he drank his share Super Bowl Sunday. **Editor's note - thanks for pointing that out dad. I'm so embarrassed**

If you’re looking for a decent wine for an outdoor event with a group and looking to keep costs down they are a great alternative. These wines will be my everyday wines at the beach on vacation this year. The portability (4 bottle equivalent per box) is an important factor. I used to haul 3-4 cases of bottles each trip for the 8-10 of us that go and that really filled up the vehicle. Some others I’ve tried that are recommended are Black Box, Hardy’s, and Trove but just remember all box wines are not created equal. Expect to pay $15-22 per box—less than that usually indicates inferior quality in my estimation (just my opinion explore for yourself).

Cooking time: An hour and 15 to and hour and a half regardless of roast size as thickness is usually about the same. I don’t use a fancy-schmancy thermometer because I know it’s what works after many efforts over the years. The roast will arrive at the plate juicy and flavorful, not dried out and tough. Hint: spray rotisserie rod with cooking spray before using to aid in cleaning later. An electrical outlet is required or proper extension cord to reach your outdoor grill. ** Editors note - many modern rotisseries are battery operated**

30 minutes in:

60 minutes in:


Ready to pull from the grill:


Roast was allowed to rest ( foil-covered to keep warmth in ) for about 15 minutes prior to carving. Cut to desired thickness for dinner serving. I usually leave remaining portion intact and slice it thin for sandwiches later or chunks for pork hash. We ultimately produced 4 meals from this roast ( depending on number of diners ). Two adults and two kids initially were fed and the remainder provided 2 batches of pork hash ( a simple recipe to follow ) and enough to slice thin for a couple of hot pork sandwiches.

And here we have the money shot:


I was going to wrap the roast in bacon but after a near heart attack from the Bacon Explosion I decided to forego that idea and stay traditional.

Pork Hash Recipe: This would be a carryover from my youth when my folks were trying to stretch their food budget. It’s very simple. Boil a few potatoes (peeled and sliced into chunks) for 10-12 minutes till fork tender. Drain water and place in a warm skillet with a few dabs of heated bacon grease (pork fat does still rule) **Editor's note - this from the guy who decided against wrapping the roast in bacon but uses bacon grease to warm the pork up** and grate fresh pepper over them. Fry the potatoes til they gain that special crispness on the outside then add pork (cut into chunks or cubes) and a cup or so of diced onion. Fry together till all is browned and serve (salt to taste). If the bacon grease is not an option for you olive oil can be substituted. This simple creation remains one of my all-time favorites.

Pork Sandwiches: This is REALLY simple. Slice remaining pork into thin slices, drop into skillet with a bit of butter or margarine, and heat till edges begin to brown. Serve on bread with your favorite condiment ( I like a little salt, pepper, and mayo on mine ).

There you have it. G-fool’s Pappy’s first solo effort. **Editor's note - and a fine effort it was**

3 comments:

  1. What a great first post! Did your dad write all of it aside from the editor's notes?

    Also, aren't parents great?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes he did. I had to reorder some of what he wrote to coincide with the pics as he wrote it more in sections as to what he did (prep, grill, cooking time, wood chips) but they didn't coincide with the pics so I had to reorder it a bit to tell the story of the process along with the pics. Otherwise I cut and pasted everything he wrote pretty much word for word...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm married to a grillin' fool! Nice looking roast. :)

    ReplyDelete