Recipes

Pulled Pork Italiano

  • Serves

    serves 8

TODD COLEMAN

DiNic's, in Philadelphia, serves this sandwich of luscious wine- and herb-braised pulled pork, sharp provolone, and roasted long hot peppers.This recipe first appeared in our April 2011 special Sandwich Issue with the article Sandwich City.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp. ground fennel seeds
  • 3 tbsp. dried parsley
  • 1 12 tbsp. dried thyme
  • 3 12 tsp. crushed red chile flakes, plus more
  • 1 (6-7-lb.) pork shoulder, butterflied
  • 3 sprigs rosemary, stemmed and finely chopped
  • 1 head garlic, finely chopped
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 12 cup red wine
  • 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 12 cup canned crushed tomatoes
  • 2 lb. broccoli rabe
  • 14 cup canola oil
  • 32 slices sharp provolone
  • 8 (12″) crusty Italian rolls, split
  • 24 roasted long hot peppers

Instructions

Step 1

Heat oven to 450°. Combine fennel, parsley, thyme, and 3 tsp. chile flakes in a small bowl; set aside. Open pork shoulder on a work surface, and spread with half of herb mixture, rosemary, 1⁄4 of the chopped garlic, salt, and pepper. Roll up shoulder, tie with kitchen twine at 1″ intervals to secure, and season out-side with remaining herb mixture, salt, and pepper. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast until browned, about 40 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and heat broiler. Add remaining garlic to pan, along with stock, wine, onion, and bay leaf; pour tomatoes over top and sides of pork shoulder. Broil until tomatoes are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°, cover pork with parchment paper, and cover roasting pan with aluminum foil. Cook until internal temperature of pork reaches 165°, about 2 hours. Set aside to cool.

Step 2

Transfer pork to cutting board, and remove bay leaf from pan. Transfer juices to a blender and purée; transfer to a 4-qt. saucepan and keep warm. Pull pork apart into large pieces and add to pan juices.

Step 3

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add broccoli rabe. Cook, stirring, until just tender, 2–3 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain, and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Heat oil in a 12″ skillet. Working in batches if necessary, add remaining chile flakes and broccoli rabe and cook, stirring, until crisp and warmed through, about 4 minutes. Set aside.

Step 4

Place 4 slices provolone on bottom half of each roll, and top with pork. Add broccoli rabe and peppers.

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