Recipe of the Week: Spiessbraten

Spiessbraten means “spit-roasted” in German. The recipe originated in Rheinland-Pfalz, in southwest Germany, and was created by local gemstone prospectors who adapted the gaucho tradition of roasting meats over wood that they had learned while in South America. If you like smoky pork, I urge you to try this delicious dish. Serve with sweet mustard, dill pickles, and potato salad.

Recipe abridged from Cooking Meat.

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients:

8 pounds             boneless pork butt, butterflied open
6                            garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp                  ground juniper berries
to taste                Salt and pepper
3                            Spanish onions, thinly sliced (divided)
3 cups                  wood chips

1. Season the pork butt with the garlic and juniper, and salt and pepper. Layer half the onions in the bottom of a nonreactive pan, place the pork on top, and cover with the remaining onions, ensuring the pork is completely covered. Refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. The next day, transfer the pork from the pan to a cutting board, leaving the top layer of onions on the meat. Roll up the shoulder like a pinwheel, enclosing the onions within the meat, then tie up the roast.
3. Fill a smoker with wood chips. Preheat the smoker to 250°F. If you don’t have a smoker, you can use a charcoal barbecue for this dish. Arrange the charcoal on one side of the grill and preheat the barbecue to 250°F. Soak 3 cups of wood chips in cold water for 30 minutes, then scatter them on the hot coals to create the smoke. Close the lid of the barbecue and adjust the air vents so the temperature inside remains around 250°F.
4. Place the pork roast either in the smoker, or on the “cool” side of the charcoal grill, and smoke for 5-6 hours, adding more wood chips every couple of hours and checking the temperature and the smoke periodically. (The pork will become too dark and bitter if the heat is too high). Make sure you have enough charcoal to get you through the 6 hours. To do this, you can heat up more charcoal in your starter chimney before adding it to the kettle. Cook the pork until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the meat reads 160°F.
5. Remove the roast from the smoker/charcoal BBQ and wrap it first in aluminum foil and then in a towel so it retains its moisture as it cools.
6. Once the roast reaches room temperature, unwrap and slice thinly. Arrange slices on individual plates and serve.