EAT THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF HIM:

Roast Fresh Pork Makes a Dramatic Presentation at the Easter Table (The Associated Press, 3/23/05)

A “fresh ham” is an unsmoked pork hind leg, chef Frank Stitt writes in Frank Stitt's Southern Table. This recipe for roast fresh pork is among the cookbook's recipes and “gracious traditions,” as the subtitle has it, from his Highland Bar and Grill. It's a dish that could well take pride of place on an Easter dinner table.

“A roast pork leg makes for a dramatic presentation, and it provides a vast amount of meat, making it perfect for a buffet,” Stitt says. Be sure to remove the aitch bone for easy carving; your butcher can do this if you like, he points out.

Curing the pork in a brine for 24 hours adds both flavor and juiciness. “The brine recipe I provide comes from my friend Jeremiah Tower's book Jeremiah Cooks,” Stitt says. Stitt is chef and owner of Highlands Bar and Grill, Cafe Bottega and Chez Fonfon, all in Birmingham, Ala., and won the 2001 James Beard Award for best chef of the Southwest. His cooking combines Southern traditions with Provencal flair.

Roast Fresh Pork Leg With Onion and Bacon Gratin

For the Brine

2 gallons water

1 cup kosher salt

½ cup sugar

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon juniper berries, toasted (see note) and crushed

6 thyme sprigs, leaves removed

6 bay leaves

½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves removed and chopped

4 dried hot chili peppers

2 tablespoons ground black pepper

1 tablespoon dried thyme

1 fresh pork leg (about 14 pounds), skinned, trimmed of fat, and aitch bone removed (have the butcher do this)

Onion and Bacon Gratin (recipe follows)

Combine water, salt, sugar, garlic, juniper, thyme, bay leaves, parsley, chili peppers, black pepper and thyme in a large pot and bring to a simmer, stirring until the salt and sugar are dissolved, then transfer to a deep pot. Place in the refrigerator to cool thoroughly before using.

Place the pork leg in the chilled brine, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 12 hours. Turn the pork over in the brine and leave refrigerated for 12 hours more.

Remove the pork leg from the brine, wipe it dry, set it on a platter. Let it come to room temperature, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

Place the pork in a large roasting pan. Roast until the internal temperature reaches 145 F to 150 F on an instant-read thermometer, about 4 hours. Remove from the oven and let the pork stand on a large rack set over a baking sheet for 30 minutes.

Serve the pork thinly sliced, with the gratin alongside.

The gratin recipe looks just as good.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 23, 2005 1:15 PM