Tag: coppa

Recipe: Steve Furgiuele’s Porchetta

Posted on by Sharman

In addition to being a chef and meat artisan, Steve Furgiuele is also an excellent photographer, which helps make his Fuge Fine Meats instagram absolutely drool-worthy.

I recently liked a photo Steve shared of porchetta, which is a savoury, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. Since it is not something that Steve is selling at the markets this summer, I asked if he would share the recipe and his photo, which he graciously agreed to do.

It is no secret that Steve has a passion for Alberta pork farmers, which you can taste with every bite of sausage and salumi he creates. Fuge Fine Meats will be available at the 124 Street Grand Market and occasionally at the City Market this summer. To learn more about where you can buy Fuge Fine Meats visit www.fuge.ca. And if you happen to be a pork-belly addict like I am, you’re going to love his porchetta recipe:

What you’ll need…

1 whole pork belly, skin on

1 coppa, shoulder cut

Handfuls of your favourite herbs (I used thyme & rosemary), fresh garlic and sea salt

Extra virgin olive oil

Baking sheet with rack

Butcher twine

Directions:

Lay down the belly with the meat side down. With a sharp knife, add a series of cuts the length of the belly, just enough to pierce the skin. This will be critical for getting that crispy skin. Flip the belly over and season liberally. Spread minced garlic and fresh herbs all over the belly. Set aside.

Take the coppa cut and proceed to cut it open as you would prepare a roulade. Take your time and carefully cut lengthwise, while allowing the meat to roll open. Generously season the meat on both sides and apply more herbs, garlic and pepper, if you desire. (I marinated mine in hot Calabrese pepperonceno paste, wine and herbs). Roll the meat back up and place in the center of the belly.

Roll the belly over to wrap the coppa cut. Using a butchers’ knot, secure the porchetta firmly. About 6 across the belly and two lengthwise (to create an X) should do the trick. If you need help with this knot, view this YouTube video. 

Once tied up, rub the porchetta with the extra virgin olive oil and apply more salt to the skin. Place on the racked baking sheet seam side down. Allow to rest overnight, uncovered. This step will allow the skin to dry out.

* I cooked mine using a wood pellet smoker, the Louisiana Grills LG900 with Tennessee Whiskey Barrel pellets. With the internal temperature probe set to 140F, this is how I proceeded to cook the porchetta.

550F for 20 minutes

315F until the internal temperature was reached, approximately 3 hours

180F for an additional 2 hours for smoke flavour development

After proper resting, the porchetta probe read about 166F. The skin crackled just right and it made some damn good sandwiches!

Recap: Swine and Dine at Bündok

Posted on by Sharman

Chef Ryan Hotchkiss and his culinary team were the latest to take on the Swine and Dine challenge – sharing a five-course menu featuring Alberta Pork from appetizer to dessert to a packed house at Bündok last week.

Throughout the event, chef Hotchkiss showcased a variety of Alberta pork producers and artisans. To start things off, chef Hotchkiss featured Secret Meat Club by Meuwly’s Coppa made with Bear and the Flower Farm pasture raised pork. 

For our starter, chef Hotchkiss layered the coppa alongside baby artichoke, hazelnut oil, puffed wild rice, and dressed with a currant vinaigrette. The puffed wild rice added a lovely crunch to our welcome dish which featured a beautifully cured cut from Meuwly’s (which should be opening their store front deli on 124th street any day now).

Our next was one of the best bites of pork belly I have ever had, which is saying something, because I have eaten a substantial amount of pork belly since Swine and Dine started almost six years ago.

Our second course featured a glazed Irvings Farm Fresh pork belly served in a bowl alongside beans and fried leeks in pea broth.

Chef Hotchkiss ladling out my favourite dish of the evening – glazed Irvings Farm pork belly, beans, and fried leeks in pea broth.

I heard from two different guests, that while they normally don’t enjoy pork belly, that the dish was amazing. I would choose this dish again and again should it ever make its way onto the regular Bündok menu. 

Chef Hotchkiss’ gnocchi is a favourite among many of their regular patrons, so I was not surprised to see a handmade pasta on his Swine and Dine menu.


For our pasta course, chef Hotchkiss and culinary team plated a chickpea tagliatelle in a Messinger Meats pork shank ragu with fried chickpeas.

Chef Hotchkiss made me a special gluten-free version of the chickpea tagliatelle, which looked identical to the original. It is the second time I’ve had chef Hotchkiss’ gluten free pasta, and I can easily say both batches made for the best I have had since becoming diagnosed as a Celiac.

I mentioned the glazed pork belly in pea broth was my favourite, but it was a challenge to make that decision as the night went on. The hand-made chickpea pasta was a real treat for me, as was the main course of the evening – a Tonkatsu pork cutlet.

Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish which consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet, which is often served with shredded cabbage. Chef Hotchkiss and his team served a Messinger Meats Millefeuille tonkatsu stuffed with gruyere cheese, grainy mustard alongside cabbage in honey reduction and yeast.

A post shared by Sharman Hnatiuk (@theporkgirl) on


When I arrived at Swine & Dine last week I ducked in the back to see what chef Hotchkiss and his team were up to in the kitchen. At the time, he told me he was most excited for the dessert because he didn’t use bacon. Rather than keep it simple with a candied bacon – the Bündok team got creative.

For dessert, chef Hotchkiss and his crew served up a Saskatoon semifreddo made with whipped @bearflowerfarm lardo and topped with chicharron and candied hazelnuts. The cool smooth texture of the semifreddo against the crunchy nuts and puffed pork skin made for an interesting bite, which also made for a light and refreshing end to our swine and dine indulgence.

My friend Simone most often skips dessert. Conveniently for my boyfriend, she often hands her Swine & Dine desserts for the set-menu dinners over for him to enjoy. This time, she came to apologize to him because she did an unusual thing – she ate every last bite!

If you have yet to experience a meal at Bündok I hope this blog inspires to add it to your restaurant-hit list. Every meal I have had at Bündok from brunch to lunch to dinner have all been exquisite. Chef Hotchkiss has the ability to take seasonal, local ingredients and make them shine on the plate.

Thank you to chef Hotchkiss and his culinary team for sharing their passion for Alberta pork. It was so good they’ll have to do it again – can’t wait to see what you come up with next time! Until then – check them out at:

Bündok
10228 104 Street NW
Edmonton, Alberta

4 Kinds Of Pork Charcuterie You Can Make At Home

Posted on by Dan Clapson

Who doesn’t love good quality charcuterie as a dinner-precursor when you’re out at restaurant? Well, next time you’re having some friends over for dinner, why not try whipping up a homemade charcuterie board. Pickles and preserves are easy enough, so try venturing a little further and curing some pork to make some of these aged meat classics.

You don’t have to be a full-blown chef at home to successfully pull off this cooking venture for the first time. All you need is a splash of ambition and the virtue of patience! Patience is key to curing meats and we all have enough of that, right? 😉

Here are 4 different ways you can utilize cuts of pork to make charcuterie in your own home!

1. Pancetta

This cured pork belly is like a sweeter (and unsmoked) bacon. It’s perfect in carbonara, great with sautéed greens or with scrambled eggs in the morning. Out of all of the types of cured meats here, it’s probably the easiest. So, why not start your foray into the world of charcuterie with this recipe for pancetta.

2. Prosciutto

Ah, prosciutto! This melt-in-your-mouth cut of pork, coming from the leg, has long been a sought-after slice of heaven. Amazing when wrapped around grilled asparagus, with fresh figs, or in a simple sandwich with some pesto and soft mozzarella. Yes, it’s hard to go wrong with prosciutto. Here’s a how-to for whipping up some prosciutto at home, make this your next do-it-yourself edible project!

3. Mortadella

Arguably a ‘fancy’ bologna, mortadella is a tender meat cooked in a similar style to sausage, then sliced. Calgary’s CHARCUT dishes out some beautiful pig’s head mortadella, studded with pistachios. Serve at home with some crackers and grainy mustard and you’ll definitely have some happy guests! Here’s how you can make some of your own mortadella.

4. Coppa

Utilizing some pork shoulder and some simple curing will leave you with coppa, a salty slice of pork that’s similar in taste to prosciutto, but with a bit more bite to it. Out of all of the types of pork charcuterie mentioned here, it’s almost as easy to cure as the pancetta, so why not give it a shot with these simple instructions?