Smoked sirloin roast?


 
contrast to Kenji's recipe:
costco sells PB with skin on. this is where I buy mine. must have skin-on for this cook/recipe
12-15# of PB is way too much for a normal family. i always budget 1# person as the cook will shrink and you'll lose maybe 20% due to render and cooking.
fennel - yes - adds a great aroma and taste - i did a dusting on the rolled porchetta's skin right before cooking it. you can add some to the herb mixture.
red pepper - italian style - yes but don't overwhelm it with red pepper
herbs - you can use whatever you want but what Kenji states is fine. you can use what i listed too. it was fine.
for an added oomph, add a little lemon zest peel in your mixture
Kenji is missing EVOO to create his paste - i think this is needed for an easy and even herb application
Kenji is missing grated cheese. i cannot express enough how important the cheese was to the flavor profile
12 cloves of garlic - that's crazy asp too much garlic. unless you want to eat that much garlic. IMO 12 cloves will kill the other flavors. remember, enhance your food, don't announce your food.
baking powder - not needed if piercing the PB skin 1 million times. buy the jacquard tool. it's cheap and does the job perfectly. and you'll get a perfect cracklin skin, unlike Kenjis where the skin will cut the roof of your mouth or gums when eating it. trust me, you want to jacquard the skin. it is a critical step to perfect skin.

i salted and black peppered the cut layers of my PB. i recommend doing the same. heck, i think my recipe is and was better than Kenji's. I will state that and live by that.

lmk if you have more q's or concerns. remember, less is more and keep it simple. let the food speak for itself. enhance it. don't kill it with 20 flavors that are screaming at each other.
 
Tim and Brett,
Thanks for your advice and wisdom. I think it’s great I went from doing a typical beef roast to now a PB porchetta, gotta love this forum! Thanks and happy holidays
You got this! Just read and refer to the thread. There's so much detail in there. I read a lot of recipes before pulling trigger. There's so many ways to make the porchetta your own. It's a classic dish that delivers so much for a simple cut of meat. Happy holidays and we look forward to any pics you share.
 
My Costco does not have skin on bellies but, this worked very nicely! It’s intimidating until you break down the process, not one step makes you sweat I felt the most tedious part was tying the nice even log the whole process was maybe forty minutes 20 of which was the trussing.
If you start to get stressed, slow down and re examine why, you will likely find that you are overthinking something. Take your time, go ahead and get the jacquard piercer, I can see other things it might be good for but, if a porchetta is all I ever use it for, money well spent!
 
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I felt the most tedious part was tying the nice even log the whole process was maybe forty minutes 20 of which was the trussing.
Recco: truss less by doing only 5-6 loops around the log. my original cook was over-trussed IMO. 5-6 rings around the log would have been enough. this can be done in 5 minutes, if you're slow, and day drinking.
 
Edit: I can't read the NYT one until I log in a give them my info. Not gonna do that but IIRC it tasted great.
So if I do this, I should go picnic and remove the bone? Or can I keep it in? Is a picnic fattier than a butt? Thanks!
 
Recco: truss less by doing only 5-6 loops around the log. my original cook was over-trussed IMO. 5-6 rings around the log would have been enough. this can be done in 5 minutes, if you're slow, and day drinking.
Brett,
Two quick questions: I see you did this on the WSK. I have a kettle, a WSM, and obviously an oven. Which would be best to replicate this? I’d imagine I can get my WSM up to 400+ without water pan.

Also - you mention the trussing. Never done this but it looks like making simple rings and tying off is self explanatory? Thanks.
 
Brett,
Two quick questions: I see you did this on the WSK. I have a kettle, a WSM, and obviously an oven. Which would be best to replicate this? I’d imagine I can get my WSM up to 400+ without water pan.

Also - you mention the trussing. Never done this but it looks like making simple rings and tying off is self explanatory? Thanks.
kettle. coals banked to each side, drip trays underneath, like a runway (same as my layout was). high temp to start then settle temp down to 375F after the first 40-45 minutes. high heat throughout isn't needed.

no water in your drip pans. the pans are there to catch the fat dripping down.

correct on making simple rings around the rolled PB. nothing fancy or ornate is needed. watch a few videos on tying though so you know how to make each loop tight. this:

you're not smoking it. you're cooking it with some flavor.
 
Thanks. I’ve made rotisserie chickens with the same set up. Actually, I made a killer Al pastor using this method. Me thinks I am overthinking this. Gonna give it a go I think for a large Xmas eve party. Yes!

One last - any measurements for the ingredients for the paste on the inside? Looks amazing.
 

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Thanks. I’ve made rotisserie chickens with the same set up. Actually, I made a killer Al pastor using this method. Me thinks I am overthinking this. Gonna give it a go I think for a large Xmas eve party. Yes!

One last - any measurements for the ingredients for the paste on the inside? Looks amazing.
That looks absolutely delicious. Very nice.

Brett's recipe is foolproof and imho likely better than Kenji's.
 
One last - any measurements for the ingredients for the paste on the inside? Looks amazing.
i didn't do a good job of measuring. i used my own dried herbs. you can eyeball it from my pic. no more than 1/8+ cup of each dried herb, and add the garlic cloves (5-7 depending on size). you can use more herbs if you'd like. i am eyeballing from my visual in the cusinart. you're making a schmear, not a mortar layer.

evoo to smooth it all out so it's an even application. the cheese is all eyeballed. i grate my own using my cuisinart food processor with the fine shredding blade installed.
 
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I don’t tie each loop (which is faster) I use all one string and flip the “loop” back and forth, I saw (now defrocked) Mario Batali do it that way and liked the way it looks the simple “surgeons knot method is dead easy and should not take too long.
It’s just personal affectation for my own satisfaction to get it all in one go as the saying goes.
Once you get on the porchetta train and ride it to rave reviews, you will ask yourself,”Why didn’t I start making these years ago?”
 

 

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