Pork loin with parmesan crust
I love this recipe and brought the big guns out for it – my 1m-long churrasco skewers – and cooked the meat over applewood embers. It is certainly a grand skewer, but quite simple. The herb baste really makes this shine, and the parmesan crust gives a wonderful extra savoury element that is unexpectedly good.
Ingredients
Serves 4
700g pork loin with 0.5-1cm of fat on it
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
100g finely grated parmesan cheese
Herb baste
Leaves picked from a handful each of fresh rosemary, thyme and flat-leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves, peeled
50ml good-quality extra virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed juice of ½ a lemon
2 tbsp coarse sea salt
1 anchovy fillet
RECOMMENDED HEAT
Moderate to high heat embers
CHOOSE YOUR SKEWER
Long, thick metal skewers
Method
1. Make the herb baste first. Blitz all the ingredients in a jug with a hand blender or in a food processor. Set aside for at least 1 hour to allow the flavours to develop.
2. Set your grill up for moderate to high heat embers.
3. Cut the pork loin up into 3cm cubes, then thread these onto your skewers, making sure the fat all faces the same way. Season with the salt.
4. Place the skewers on the grill over the embers and cook for around 15 minutes, turning occasionally until the surface of the pork is brown, and give the fatty side a little extra time to help it to crisp it up. Using a silicone pastry brush, occasionally brush over the herb baste throughout cooking.
5. Use a digital probe thermometer and once the pork hits 60°C internal temperature evenly sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the pork, leave for a few minutes so it starts to melt, then turn the cheesy side to the heat for 1-2 minutes until the cheese forms a crust.
6. Serve alongside some grilled chorizo and a nice glass of Malbec.
