Best Pork And Fennel Sausage Sandwich With Pickled Hot Peppers Broccoli Rabe And Provolone Recipes

ITALIAN PORK SANDWICH WITH BROCCOLI RABE AND SHARP PROVOLONE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and a grill pan over medium-high heat.
• Sprinkle the pork tenderloin generously with salt. Coat the preheated grill pan with oil. Sear the tenderloin on all sides until golden brown and internal temperature reaches 145 F, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 to 7 minutes. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Toast the rolls, cut side-down, on the grill pan allowing the bread to crisp up and soak up the flavor from the pork. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the mayonnaise, Parmesan, Calabrian chiles and vinegar in a small bowl.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with salted water and ice. Add the broccoli rabe to the boiling water and cook until just tender, about 1 minute. Remove from boiling water and drop immediately into the ice bath. Once cool, remove, drain and roughly chop.
• Coat a large skillet with oil and heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until just soft, about 1 minute. Add the broccoli rabe, season with salt and saute until heated through.
• Build the sandwiches: Spread the mayonnaise-chile mixture on the toasted sides of a roll. Top the bottom of the roll with half the pork, broccoli rabe and provolone cheese. Top with top piece of the roll and transfer to a baking tray. Build the second sandwich with the remaining ingredients. Bake just until cheese melts, about 3 minutes.
• Slice each sandwich in half and serve!

ITALIAN PORK SANDWICHES (DINIC'S COPYCAT PHILLY PORK SANDWICH)

Steps:

• Marinate the meat the night before. If needed, trim the skin off of the pork shoulder while you're butterflying it, but don't trim away the fat cap on top. We used a 4-pound piece off of a larger cut, so we also had a small bone to butterfly around.
• Sprinkle evenly all over with salt (to avoid oversalting, sprinkle it from a height above the meat so it spreads evenly without needing to use a ton). Combine 1½ tablespoons ground fennel seeds, 1½ tablespoons dried thyme, 2 tablespoons dried oregano, and 1 tablespoon fresh minced rosemary leaves. Generously rub the meat all over with this seasoning. Next, stir together the 3 tablespoons of minced parsley and the minced garlic. Spread the majority on the inner parts of the butterflied pork shoulder, and distribute the rest on the top.
• Rebundle the pork shoulder so it is in a relatively tight roll. Place in a roasting pan, and surround with the thinly sliced onion. Drizzle a little olive oil over the onions. Refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, take your pork out of the refrigerator early (about 2 hours before you're ready to roast) to come up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and one in the upper third.
• You're going to roast the pork and the peppers simultaneously, so wash the peppers, pat them dry, and cut them all lengthwise and deseed them (If you like your long hots really hot, skip that step!) Toss in olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Lay out evenly on a baking sheet.
• Place the roast in the lower third of the oven, and the peppers on the rack in the upper third. Roast at 450 degrees F for 35 minutes. (Depending on how hot your oven runs, you may want to check them at the 20-25 minute mark.) Remove the peppers from the oven and set them aside. Later, you can reheat the peppers by stirring them into the hot pulled pork to rewarm them, or by putting them back in the oven in the final stretch of cooking.
• Also take the pork out of the oven at this step, and add the stock, wine, tomatoes, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Cook for another 15 minutes at 450 degrees F, and then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Continue roasting the pork for 2 hours.
• Carefully remove the foil (you'll be putting it back on). Using a sharp carving knife, cut the roast into large chunks, laying them flat in the braising liquid. Re-cover with foil and cook for another 2 to 2 ½ hours, until the pork is fork tender.
• A little while before you take your pork out of the oven, it's time to prepare your broccoli rabe. In a skillet over medium-high heat, add ¼ cup of olive oil and 7 cloves chopped garlic. Let the garlic brown lightly, and add the crushed red pepper flakes, followed by the chopped broccoli rabe. Cook until wilted, and then lower the heat if needed to cook until tender--you don't want the stems to be crunchy!
• Remove the pork from the oven. Discard the bay leaves. Pull the pork in the pan with two forks, mixing everything in the juices.
• Stir in your reserved roasted peppers to rewarm them. Alternatively, you could reheat them in the oven in the last 10-15 minutes of roasting.
• To build each sandwich, grab your Italian bread/rolls, and slice them lengthwise. Lay down a healthy bed of sharp provolone slices (we went with sharp provolone from the deli counter, but if you really want to be authentic to the OG sandwich, get a wedge of super sharp provolone and cut it into rough, thick shavings), and toast to melt the cheese. Top with a generous, drippy helping of pulled pork. Spoon over the broccoli rabe, and nestle a few pieces of long green hot pepper and bell pepper inside. Top off with pepperoncini slices if desired, and eat immediately!

SAUSAGE DECONSTRUCTED: PORK AND FENNEL ONE-POT

Steps:

• Season the pork with salt and pepper, to taste, the fennel seed, and the red pepper flakes. Dredge the pork in the flour.
• Heat a large skillet with 3 tablespoons of the extra-virgin olive oil, over medium-low heat. When the oil ripples, add the pork and brown it for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once. Remove the pork to a plate. Add the remaining tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil, then add the sliced fennel, onions, garlic, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more, then stir in the wine and scrape up the drippings. Stir in the citrus zest, juice, stock, and parsley. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the pork and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes more. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with the chopped fennel fronds. Serve the pork and sauce in shallow bowls with crusty ciabatta for mopping.

GRILLED SAUSAGE SANDWICHES WITH FENNEL AND SWEET ONION

Steps:

• Uncoil sausage and cut into 4 equal lengths. Re-coil each piece into a round and secure with a skewer horizontally through coil.
• Toss together fennel, onion, oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
• Lightly oil grill pan and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Arrange sausages and fennel and onion in grill pan (vegetables can be in a shallow pile). Grill, turning sausages over once and tossing vegetables occasionally, until vegetables are softened and charred, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and continue to grill sausages until cooked through, 2 to 5 minutes more.
• Remove skewers and serve sausages, topped with fennel and onion, on buns.

ITALIAN FENNEL SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine salt, fennel seed and red-pepper flakes. Add pork to the spice mixture along with the garlic, and wine. Using your hands, mix thoroughly for 1 full minute, until the pork begins to appear tacky and sticks to the palm of your hand.
• Heat a cast-iron pan over medium heat. Use a heaping tablespoon of pork mixture to make a small, thin sausage patty. Add a teaspoon or so of olive oil, and cook the patty for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Taste, and if needed, add salt or any other seasonings to the uncooked sausage mixture and mix to combine.
• Divide and form the remaining sausage into 8 2 1/2-inch patties, placing them on the prepared baking sheet as you go. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to come together. (Patties can be made ahead and covered and refrigerated or frozen at this point until ready to use.)
• To cook, wipe out cast-iron pan, and return to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When it shimmers, add patties in a single layer, leaving space between them. Cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until browned on the surface and just cooked through.
• Drain sausages on paper towels, and serve hot.

HOT SAUSAGE BURGERS WITH BROCCOLI RABE

Steps:

• Combine the pork with the red pepper flakes, paprika, fennel, sage, granulated onion, granulated garlic, and salt. Form 4 patties and drizzle with EVOO to coat.
• Heat a small pot over medium-low heat, add the tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire, vinegar, and black pepper, then cook for 15 minutes or until thickened to steak-sauce consistency.
• Bring a couple inches of water to a boil in a medium skillet, salt the water, and cook the broccoli rabe for 5 minutes, then drain. Place the skillet back on the stove and heat the tablespoon of EVOO over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic; chop the broccoli rabe into 2-inch pieces and sauté it in the garlic and oil for 2 minutes. Season with nutmeg to taste.
• While the water comes to a boil for the broccoli rabe and the tomato sauce reduces, heat a drizzle of EVOO in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the burgers and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Melt a slice of provolone over the patties during the last minute of cook time. Tent the pan with foil to help the cheese melt.
• To serve, pile broccoli rabe on each roll, top with a cheesy sausage patty, and set the top of the roll in place with a slather of warm sauce. Place some chips alongside.