BBQ123/17 – Rotisserie Leg of Pork:
When I was ordering pork bellies from Puddledub I spotted a leg of pork and having never cooked one on the BBQ before I added it to the order. My plan was to cook rotisserie leg of pork.
The Meat:
The leg of pork was from Puddledub. 2kg for £12.99 – what a bargain!
The Prep:
The main thing I wanted was crispy crackling. I have tried a number of methods to achieve this but the best results have come from patting the meat dry with a paper towel, slashing the skin then rubbing salt in to the skin just before I cook it. If the meat is wet or if you don’t slash the skin you won’t get good crackling. If you put salt on too early it draws moisture out of the meat and onto the skin which will stop you getting good crackling. This method is pretty simple but works!
I fired up a full chimney of Oxford Charcoal Hardwood Blend and once lit I poured it into the charcoal baskets with one at each side to run parallel with the rotisserie and meat. With the meat dry, slashed and salted I pushed the rotisserie bar through the centre, set the skewers and placed it into the bbq.
The Cook:
I added a chunk of Whisky Oak and another chunk of Cherry. The Whisky Oak was to give a nice smoky taste and the cherry was mainly to add colour. I placed the chunks on the furthest edge from the meat as they can flare up and burn the meat.
Looking at a previous cook for a rolled pork loin it took 2 hours so I guessed this would be about similar:
I checked back a few times and added more smoking wood after an hour. The meat was taking on a nice colour and smelt fantastic!
After an 85 minutes the crackling looked like it had enough colour, I didn’t want it to burn so I wrapped it in tin foil. The internal temperature was approaching 60c so not long to go.
2 hours in the internal temperature was around 70c so I took the meat off to rest.
The meat had a great colour, the crackling looked good too.
I left it to rest for half an hour.
Time to Eat:
It was time to slice the meat. The board was running with juice from where the meat had rested. As I started cutting the crackling it was exactly as I wanted, nice and crispy! The meat was very soft with plenty of juices running off. I sneaked a taste, it was fantastic!
I pan fried some more of the Puddledub black pudding but also added some apple slices which were finished with honey.
Summary:
This was a cracking meal. So easy to cook and so tasty! A total bargain for £12.99 and one I will cook more often! The pork tasted great, the crackling was really nice and the black pudding went well with it.
We have had 3 meals out of the 2 kg joint so far so it really is good value for money.
Next time I would probably slash the skin a bit less and take it off around 65c.
Cook Equipment: | Weber Kettle |
Cook Method: | Rotisserie |
Charcoal: | Oxford Charcoal Hardwood Blend |
Smoking Wood: | Smokewood Shack Cherry and Whisky Oak |
Cook temperature: | 250C |
Cook time: | 2h and 30m rest |
Internal temperature: | 70c |
Notes: | 1: Slash the meat less
2: Take it off under 70c |