This recipe is very good. I felt like the fennel overpowered the other flavors so I reduced the fennel to 1 TBSP. Perfection!
Pulled Pork Italiano
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.
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Credit: Todd Coleman
3 tbsp. ground fennel seeds
3 tbsp. dried parsley
1½ tbsp. dried thyme
3½ tsp. crushed red chile flakes, plus more
1 6-7-1b. 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
½ cup red wine
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
½ cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 lb. broccoli rabe
¼cup canola oil
32 slices sharp provolone
8 12″ crusty Italian rolls, split
24 roasted long hot peppers
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, ¼ 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.
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.
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.
4. Place 4 slices provolone on bottom half of each roll, and top with pork. Add broccoli rabe and peppers.
