The subtle smokiness and even cooking temperatures of the Big Green Egg bring out the succulence of the Roasted Pork Collar, creating a harmonious blend of flavors when savored with the Dirty Apple Sauce and the sweet, slight char of the onions.
Ingredients
- 1 pork collar, 4½ pounds (approx 2kg)
- 4 cups (1 litre) of water
- 2.5 oz (70 g) fine salt
- 1oz (30 g) sugar
- 3 bay leaves
- 8 peppercorns
- 8 cloves
- 6 white onions
- 2 granny smith apples
- 1.7 oz (50 g) butter
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup (50 ml) cider brandy
Instructions
Set the EGG for indirect cooking with convEGGtor to 266Ëš F/130ËšC with Big Green Egg Canadian Maple lump charcoal.
Make the brine in advance as it needs to be cold. Add the peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, salt and sugar to a pan with 4 cups (1 litre) of water. Heat the pan to dissolve the salt and sugar, then allow to cool. Place the pork collar into the cold brine and leave in the fridge for 2 hours. Remove from the brine, rinse, and pat dry.
Place the pork collar on the grill and slowly roast it until it reaches an interior temperature of 125ËšF/50ËšC, and set it aside to rest. Remove the convEGGtor. Increase the temperature of the EGG to 395ËšF/200ËšC.
While the temperature is coming up, place your apples directly into the coals, right on top of the fire. Remove the apples from the coals once blackened and tender, set aside to cool. Add the Cast Iron grate. Slice the onions through the middle with their skin still on, place cut-side down on the grate, and grill direct until soft and charred. Halve the lemon and place cut-side down on the grate. Grill until the edges are blackened.
Place the pork collar back in the EGG and grill directly until it reaches an internal temperature of 136ËšF/58ËšC. Set aside to restÂ
for 20 minutes. While the pork is resting, peel the skin off the apples, remove the seeds and lightly crush the flesh with a spatula. In a saucepan, stir the crushed apples with the butter, cider brandy, and the juice of the charred lemon. Peel the skin off your onions. Slice your pork generously and arrange on a platter with the onions and apple sauce. Finish by pouring the resting juices over the pork.