Yeehaw! My week in Texas has come to an end and I am happy to report a successful Pig Roast at Cipollina in Austin, Texas. The open-kitchen Italian Bistro is home to a passionate crew of culinary lovers and I am proud to have been apart of their kitchen for a couple of days. My bud from Philly, Steve Parke and I hatched this idea for the Pig Roast last month, secretly just wanting to hang out and cook awesome food. We did just that.

My week in Austin began after the 30 hour haul from Pennsylvania to Texas with my road dogs from Caravan. I got to Cipollina and immediately began to break down the beautiful 197 pound Countryside Farms Hog from Cedar Creek, Texas. With the help from Viktor, one of Cipollina's line cooks, we broke down the pig. Viktor's father Juan, who also works in the kitchen, inspected our butchering, correcting us occasionally as he finished his prep work for the day. Viktor's mother Maria, on the other side of the counter, picked herbes and kept a watchful eye on our progress. It was a lovely feeling to be surrounded by a family cooking together.

We butcher the pig, split the cavity, removed the remaining organs and separated the spine from ribs (Juan showed us his technique at this point) and finally halved the pig. We then took the front and hind quarters and separated them. We removed the skin, bones, and choice cuts, prepared meat for braising, stock and rubbed the belly with spices.

This is my third whole pig I've gotten to break down, my first in a commercial kitchen with a proper cleaver. We wrote out the menu, talked details and made empanadas and peach slab pie for street vending. I hustled sixth street with flyers in hand for a couple of nights and then Thursday the magic happened.

Al Pastor Empanadas

Dough

500 grams good Flour

50 grams Lard or Butter

2 tsp salt

4 oz hot water

In a large mixing bowl, add flour, lard and salt. If using butter make sure butter is diced. Slowly add hot water. Mix dough with clean hands. It will become flakey and stringy, mix until dough is smooth, add more hot water if necessary. Knead for about 5 minutes. Set in fridge for a half hour.

Al Pastor Filling

3-4 large onions, chopped

5 pounds ground pork

5 Guajillo Chillies

1 head garlic, minced

1- 7oz can Chipotle Chillies

8 oz frozen pineapple

1 cup orange juice

salt and cumin to taste

In a large sauce pan, brown onions, 10-15 minutes. Add ground pork and cook until browned. Add chillies, garlic, pineapple and simmer. Add orange juice. Season with salt and cumin. Simmer for 30 mins or a couple of hours for deeper flavors.

Roll out dough with rolling pin or pasta machine. Cut circles to desired size (shown in recipe: 4 inch diameter). Add about 2 large tablespoons of pork mixture. Rub water around edges of dough and crimp to close. Repeat till dough or filling is gone.

Egg Wash

2-4 egg yolks

Lay finished empanadas on parchment paper. Whisk egg yolk until smooth. With a pastry brush, wash the empanadas with whisked yolks (this will help them brown). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden.

Texas Slab Pie

Dough

470 grams good flour

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tbsp salt

340 grams butter, diced

3/4-1 cup cold water

Mix flour, sugar and salt. Add butter and knead. Slowly add water until dough is smooth. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours until firm.

Spicy Peach Preserves

16 oz frozen peach slices

1/2-1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp clove, cinnamon, salt, to taste

1 tbsp red pepper flake

1 lemon, juiced and zested

In a large sauce pan add frozen peaches and brown sugar. once peaches are soft add spices and reduce liquid, or reserve extra liquid for an awesome simple syrup. Puree in food processor until slightly chunky. Set aside.

Roll pie dough to fit a large rectangular cookie sheet. Lay preserves atop, cut remaining for lattice crust, apply egg wash to crust (see egg wash recipe in the recipe above). In a 375 oven bake for 45-55 minutes until golden. Serve with ice cream!

Coffee Rubbed Pork Belly

Pork BellyPhoto by Justin Rouhier — Pork Belly
Photo by Justin Rouhier

Spice Rub

1/4 cup chili powder

1/4 cup finely ground coffee

2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ground coriander

Remove skin from Pork Belly. Cross score the fat. Set aside. Mix all ingredients and generously rub onto scored pork belly. Set aside.

Pork Belly

2 pounds pork belly

2 Carrots

3 stalks Celery

1/2 Red Onion (sliced)

1 16 oz can tomato

2 cans Texas Lone Star Beer

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop vegetables into large 1/2 inch chunks and set aside. In a Dutch oven or large cast iron, heat a heavy pour of olive oil and add prepared belly, fat side down. Once deep brown, flip to other side. Add vegetables. Pour in beer. Place uncovered in oven. Cook for two hours and serve atop of slaw.

Carbonara

1 pound fresh or dry spaghetti

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 oz pork belly

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 egg yolks, whisked

1 handful spinach

1 cup pecorino cheese

parsley and pecorino, to finish

Cook pasta according to directions, reserving a 1/2 cup of pasta water for sauce. Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add pork belly, and saute for 3 minutes until crisp. Add garlic. Immediately add hot spaghetti to pan and add whisked egg yolks and cheese. Make sure spaghetti is covered with sauce and add spinach and reserved pasta water. Simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened. Garnish with shaved Pecorino and parsley. Serve immediately.

Porca Puttana Pizza

1 pre-made pizza dough

1/2 cup Onion Jam

1/2 cup premade Pulled Pork

1/4 cup pickled shallots

1/2 ricotta or mascarpone

BBQ sauce

1 tablespoon each of parsley, basil, tarragon, chopped

Roll out prepared pizza dough. Add a dash of olive oil on the dough. Add onion jam, layer pulled pork, shallots, cheese, and finish with bbq sauce. Brush crust with olive oil and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes until crispy. Finish with fresh herbes.

Onion Jam

5 onions, caramelized, about 20-30 minutes

1/2 cup pork stock

In a food processor, add onions and pork stock pulse until smooth or desired consistency.