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Pork Leg Crostini




Source of Recipe


Highlands Bar & Grill, Birmingham, Ala.


List of Ingredients




Herb Rub
1 sprig rosemary
1 sprig thyme
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoons juniper berries, toasted
2 garlic cloves

1 fresh uncured pork leg, trimmed, with bone removed, or 1 boneless pork loin
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sweet Potato Chips
2 large sweet potatoes
canola oil for frying
salt to taste

Crawfish Aioli
1 pound fresh crawfish, cooked
1 head of garlic, roasted
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 sprig parsley, stemmed and chopped
2 large egg yolks
1½ cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon

1 loaf sourdough bread
olive oil for brushing
2 cups fresh watercress or other greens
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Recipe



To make the rub: Grind the ingredients in a mortar until combined into a paste.

To prepare the pork: Rub the herb mixture over the surface of the pork. Wrap the pork in plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 days.

To roast the pork: Preheat the oven to 325 F. Unwrap the pork and place on a rack in a oven pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast 4 hours, to an internal temperature of 150 F. Remove, tent with foil, and let rest.

To make the sweet potato chips: Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into very thin slices on a mandoline or V-slicer. Pat dry with paper towels. Heat the oil to 365 F in a deep-fryer or deep saucepan. Place a handful of potato slices in the hot oil and fry until they stop furiously bubbling and are crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Dust lightly with salt. Set aside in a dry place until ready to use.

To make the aioli: Reserve 4 whole crawfish for garnish. Twist the crawfish tails from the heads of the remaining crawfish and squeeze the meat out of the tails. The shells may be reserved for use in shellfish stock, or discarded. Cut the roasted garlic head in half horizontally. Squeeze the roasted garlic from the garlic head into a large mortar. Add 2 crawfish tails, 1 crawfish head, salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme and parsley. Crush together until pasty. Remove to a mixing bowl and add the egg yolks. Whisk to blend with the seasonings. Mix the oils and slowly drizzle into the egg mixture while whisking vigorously; the mixture will gradually thicken to the consistency of mayonnaise. Whisk in the vinegar and lemon juice. Strain through a sieve and fold in the crawfish tail meat.

To assemble and serve: Preheat the broiler to high. Slice the bread into 1¼-inch-thick slices (if the shape of the bread yields long slices, cut the slices in half crosswise). Brush with olive oil and place under the broiler until browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and spread with crawfish aioli. Place 3 crostini on each serving plate, browned-side up. Carve the pork into thin slices and fold 1 or 2 of the slices on top of each crostini. Toss the watercress with the extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and place a large bunch of watercress to one side of each plate. Pile sweet potato chips in the centers of the plates. Garnish each plate with a whole crawfish.




Serves 4.