Applewood-Smoked Porchetta with Fennel and Rosemary

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A boneless pork shoulder rubbed with crushed fennel seed, rosemary, garlic and lemon, then smoked low and slow over applewood until it pulls apart with a fork. It takes a lazy Saturday and almost no attention — the smoker does everything — and the payoff is a batch of herby, faintly sweet Italian-style pork that piles onto ciabatta with peppery arugula and feeds a crowd twice over.

Ingredients

• 5 lb boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds
• 3 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lemon, zested and halved
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine

• 8 ciabatta rolls, split
• 4 cups baby arugula

Instructions

1. Crush the fennel seeds coarsely under the bottom of a heavy pan or in a mortar. Stir them together with the rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and olive oil to make a thick paste. Pat the pork shoulder dry, score the fat cap in a 1-inch crosshatch about 1/4 inch deep, and rub the paste over every surface, working it into the score marks. Let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes while the smoker heats.
2. Set up your smoker for indirect cooking at 250°F (120°C) and add 3 or 4 chunks of applewood (cherry also works). Fill the water pan — the humidity keeps the shoulder from drying out over the long cook.
3. Place the pork fat side up directly on the grate and smoke undisturbed for 3 hours. Pour 1 cup of the white wine into a spray bottle or small bowl and, starting at hour 3, spritz or brush the surface every 45 minutes to keep the bark from going hard and dark.
4. Continue smoking until the thickest part of the shoulder reads 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer and the bark is deep mahogany, about 5 to 6 hours total. Expect the temperature to stall in the 150s for an hour or more — that is normal, do not raise the heat.
5. Lay out two long sheets of heavy foil, set the pork in the middle, pour over the remaining 1/2 cup wine, and wrap tightly into a sealed packet. Return it to the smoker and cook until the internal temperature reaches 203°F (95°C) and the probe slides in with no resistance, another 2 to 3 hours.
6. Move the wrapped pork to a cutting board or empty cooler and rest, still sealed, for at least 45 minutes. Skipping this is the single most common way to end up with dry pulled pork.
7. Open the foil carefully over a bowl to catch the juices. Pull the pork apart with two forks, discarding large fat pieces, then moisten it with the reserved juices and squeeze over the halved lemon. Pile onto split ciabatta rolls with a handful of arugula.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

One-Skillet Blackened Cajun Chicken Pasta

One-Pot Chicken Creole

Dark Roux Seafood Gumbo with Quick Shrimp Stock

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem