Frankie is an Italian who puts Italian cooking with American barbecue/grilling skills.  He was kind enough to share his recipe and log of making his version of smoked pork shoulder.  His site, Barbecue for All, is worth visiting, and he’s added an English section to it for those of us that can’t read Italian.  He even writes with a bit of an accent!  I like to think I go all out to make some things, but wait until you see this!

This one is a long entry, but well worth it!

Hello everybody.
I’m so far from here. I’m Italian but I have a big ambition.  Melt American BBQ skills and Italian cooking style.  In Italy, BBQ as you know (low, slow and smoky) doesn’t exist.  In Italy we (THEY!) are used to cook meat over direct fire, without smoking and without marinades, rubs, sauces and so on.  First time I saw true BBQ was on a local food channel that was showing a [Steven] Raichlen series.  I was thunderstruck from this method!  Really!  I started finding wood chips in Italy but nobody sold smoking wood (I still spend a LOT of money on buying wood from a friends of mine in Salt Lake City) and trying all of recipes as I could.  I realize that smoky flavour makes me absolutely crazy!  Maybe a lot of people in Italy are waiting for somebody that help them on BBQ, so I started my own website.  This is http://www.bbq4all.it.  We speak Italian and English (spaghetti), and we are looking for some new friends. I’m visiting a lot of american websites in order to raise my experience.  Now I would wish your opinion over one of my own recipes that attempts to join Americans and Italians.

A whole smoked pork shoulder, marinated with green apple juice and prosecco served with salsa renetta

This is a whole pork leg. Shoulder, shinbone and feet.

I first brined the meat for 4 days in my brother-in-law’s cellar. I
also put in the brine cinnamon, pepper, bay leaf, juniper berry,
cloves, rosemary, and a little of saltpeter (for preserving).

After 4 days I dried it and let to rest while preparing marinade:

Marinade ingredients were:
Apple juice (green apple, we call them granny smith)
Prosecco
onions
the same brine spices and a little more salt:

Again in the cellar, marinating for 24 hours:

The next day my brother in law built for himself his own handmade smoker.

We start cooking the meat at low fire ~225F for about 6 hours….

….using some apple wood chunks soaked in the leftover marinade.

While cooking I prepared the renetta sauce (maybe it is a light chutney),my personal recipe:
4 fresh Canadian rennet apples (FANTASTIC!!)
Onions
Coriander seeds
Lemon wedges (with the skin)
Butter
2 cup of Italian prosecco or other dry wine
5 tblsp of worcestershire
2 tblsp of apple vinegar
½ cup of sweet apple juice
salt and pepper to taste

Put some chopped onion with a little butter and the coriander seeds in a pan and cook over a high fire for 3 minutes.

Add the apples and cook until they star to flake off. Add the prosecco and worcestershire and cook over low fire for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes add vinegar, apple juice, a little more butter and let evaporate alcohol (3 to 4 minutes.  Add salt and pepper. Add more vinegar or juice to taste.

After smoothing the sauce with a food blender.

Fantastic! Believe me.

After few hours I used an injector (a standard syringe) with an emulsion of green apple juice, olive oil and salt.

This was the result after about 7 hours:

God looking, tender, succulent, pink and moist as American school teaches!

Skin was obviously burnt but the meat was fantastic, I
assure you.

Pork chop, italian EVOO, and a renetta sauce scoop…

It’s up to you the judgment.  Believe me….nobody in italy smoke meat as I did.  Am I close to the American BBQ school??  Best wishes to everybody.

Frankie

www.bbq4all.it
American BBQ skills and italian cooking style, melted together.