Eat your Pork on New Year's Day for a fat New Year.

Italian Restaurant Style Roast Pork Sandwich

Buon Anno!  Hope you had a great New Year's Eve and are enjoying the Mummer's Parade as I am! The old saying is eat pork on New Year's day for a fat new year. Eat chicken and you will scratch all year. So, we played it safe as we do every year and ate pork! We don't actually eat a lot of pork, or a lot of meat at all. The holidays are a lot different diet-wise for us so we did it up but not with your typical pork roast.

My cousin Frankie was quite the chef. He and his brother had a Deli in Northeast Philadelphia, a  Pizzeria on the Main Line, Pep's Cold Cuts in Milmont Park (known for its Broasted Chicken) and then eventually Pep's Saloon in Prospect Park.

Pep's is known for its baked ham, roast beef, and roast pork sandwiches. My dad used to work for the catering side of his deli. Luckily he learned a lot of the infamous recipes before Frankie sold his restaurant in the early 2000s.

Funny story, both my dad and Frankie had the same first and last name and my mom and Frankie's longtime girlfriend had the same name. They also both lived in the same area; pretty crazy! Anyway, there are some amazing dishes that are staples for us which came from both my dad and Frankie. I'd like to think that cooking skills run in the bloodline.

I am not sure whether it is a good or a bad idea to share this recipe...it is THAT good! I can say that we don't really follow a recipe so you will probably never be able to actually recreate it nor can we ever properly transcribe it. As my dad put it, it is the "Mystery Formula" and he makes it better than anyone so I think he has some tricks!

For residential use this recipe has been scaled down SIGNIFICANTLY!

The Petragnani Roast Pork Sandwich

Makes about ten 6" sandwiches

3 lb. Fresh Pork Loin tied
Kosher Salt
Rosemary
Thyme
Garlic Salt
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Oregano
4 cloves of garlic quartered
1 can of pork gravy or au jus

Set roast on a rack in a roasting pan

Cut slits throughout roast and place a piece of garlic in each
Coat with salt and spices

Bake in preheated oven at 275 for 45 minutes per pound
Internal temperature should be about 170 degrees
Remove from pan
Cover with foil and let rest for 15 mins

While the pork rests:
If your roasting pan can take direct heat, place over medium heat
Add can of pork gravy
Once sizzling turn off heat

Carve the pork by cutting thin slices
Add the meat to the gravy as you slice to keep it well hydrated

A few tips:

1. Be sure you have a sharp or extra sharp provolone. Do yourself a favor and skip the deli counter, go to the cheese section and grab a nice chunk or BelGiosio or Auricchio Provolone.

2. You also should have a jar of Cento or San-Del hot cherry peppers or hot pepper spread.  Italian long hots will work also or roasted red peppers if spicy is not your thing (See Christmas Meal Blog).

3. Prepare some broccoli rabe (See Christmas Meal Blog). You can eat this on your sandwich in place of peppers, have some on the side, or cut your roll in half and make yourself 1 of each.

4. Dip your roll in the juice before you fill your roll. I suggest Amoroso or Buono Brother rolls if you are local to Philadelphia, if not: I cannot guarantee the quality of this sandwich!

5. Proper Construction: Dipped Bread, Cheese, Peppers or Broccoli Rabe, Meat

You could also use the bite and dip method but this is not always appreciated by fellow diners.

 

Enjoy the rest of you New Year's celebrations! Salute!