Philadelphia Style Roast Pork Sandwiches Recipes

ITALIAN PORK SANDWICHES (DINIC'S COPYCAT PHILLY PORK SANDWICH)

Steps:

• Marinate the meat the night before. If needed, trim the skin off of the pork shoulder while you're butterflying it, but don't trim away the fat cap on top. We used a 4-pound piece off of a larger cut, so we also had a small bone to butterfly around.
• Sprinkle evenly all over with salt (to avoid oversalting, sprinkle it from a height above the meat so it spreads evenly without needing to use a ton). Combine 1½ tablespoons ground fennel seeds, 1½ tablespoons dried thyme, 2 tablespoons dried oregano, and 1 tablespoon fresh minced rosemary leaves. Generously rub the meat all over with this seasoning. Next, stir together the 3 tablespoons of minced parsley and the minced garlic. Spread the majority on the inner parts of the butterflied pork shoulder, and distribute the rest on the top.
• Rebundle the pork shoulder so it is in a relatively tight roll. Place in a roasting pan, and surround with the thinly sliced onion. Drizzle a little olive oil over the onions. Refrigerate overnight.
• The next day, take your pork out of the refrigerator early (about 2 hours before you're ready to roast) to come up to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and position a rack in the lower third of the oven, and one in the upper third.
• You're going to roast the pork and the peppers simultaneously, so wash the peppers, pat them dry, and cut them all lengthwise and deseed them (If you like your long hots really hot, skip that step!) Toss in olive oil, and sprinkle with salt. Lay out evenly on a baking sheet.
• Place the roast in the lower third of the oven, and the peppers on the rack in the upper third. Roast at 450 degrees F for 35 minutes. (Depending on how hot your oven runs, you may want to check them at the 20-25 minute mark.) Remove the peppers from the oven and set them aside. Later, you can reheat the peppers by stirring them into the hot pulled pork to rewarm them, or by putting them back in the oven in the final stretch of cooking.
• Also take the pork out of the oven at this step, and add the stock, wine, tomatoes, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Cook for another 15 minutes at 450 degrees F, and then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Continue roasting the pork for 2 hours.
• Carefully remove the foil (you'll be putting it back on). Using a sharp carving knife, cut the roast into large chunks, laying them flat in the braising liquid. Re-cover with foil and cook for another 2 to 2 ½ hours, until the pork is fork tender.
• A little while before you take your pork out of the oven, it's time to prepare your broccoli rabe. In a skillet over medium-high heat, add ¼ cup of olive oil and 7 cloves chopped garlic. Let the garlic brown lightly, and add the crushed red pepper flakes, followed by the chopped broccoli rabe. Cook until wilted, and then lower the heat if needed to cook until tender--you don't want the stems to be crunchy!
• Remove the pork from the oven. Discard the bay leaves. Pull the pork in the pan with two forks, mixing everything in the juices.
• Stir in your reserved roasted peppers to rewarm them. Alternatively, you could reheat them in the oven in the last 10-15 minutes of roasting.
• To build each sandwich, grab your Italian bread/rolls, and slice them lengthwise. Lay down a healthy bed of sharp provolone slices (we went with sharp provolone from the deli counter, but if you really want to be authentic to the OG sandwich, get a wedge of super sharp provolone and cut it into rough, thick shavings), and toast to melt the cheese. Top with a generous, drippy helping of pulled pork. Spoon over the broccoli rabe, and nestle a few pieces of long green hot pepper and bell pepper inside. Top off with pepperoncini slices if desired, and eat immediately!

PHILADEPHIA ROAST PORK SANDWICH

Steps:

• Remove raw meat from wrapping and lay flat on a clean dry surface.
• Sprinkle each side with the seasoning ingredients: salt, black pepper, herbs, garlic, and olive oil (see herb note). I always use salt first so it really can sink into the meat.
• After seasoning, fold roast in half (if using deboned roast; otherwise no fold or roll necessary) and secure with butcher or kitchen twice and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to rest.
• Allow meat to absorb flavorings for a minimum of 6 hours or up to overnight.
• Before cooking, unwrap roast and allow the roast to come to room temperature for about 45 minutes.
• In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• While the oven is preheating, begin browning the meat on the stove top. Coat the bottom of a large pan with olive oil and brown the roast on all sides on the stove top. Time to browning will vary depending on power of burner. You'll just need a little color on the roast.
• Prepare to oven roast the meat. Add carrots, celery, onion and wine to a roasting pan, and immediately transfer the roast on top of vegetables.
• Roasting time will vary according to weight of your roast (guideline is 20 min per pound uncovered; I covered mine so the juices accumulated and didn't burn off and mine was finished in about 15 minutes per pound, which totaled 1 hour for a 4 pound roast). Finished temperature should read 145 degrees F.
• Alternatively, the meat can be cooked in the slow cooker (suggested slow cooker time is 2 to 4 hours on low; check meat early for finished cooked temperature of 145 degrees F.)
• After the meat is cooked, allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then slice very thinly.
• While the meat is cooking, prepare the broccoli rabe.
• Rinse the broccoli rabe thoroughly and break or cut about 1/2 inch from the ends, which can be very tough.
• Fill a large pot (big enough to cover broccoli rabe with water), add water and salt (1 teaspoon per quart of water), and bring to a boil.
• When the water is boiling, submerge the broccoli rabe and cook for about 1.5 to 2 minutes, until just tender.
• In a medium-sized frying pan, saute red pepper flakes and 1 clove of minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant.
• Add the cooked broccoli rabe, toss only until flavored, and set aside until you are ready to assemble the sandwiches.
• After the pork has been removed from the pan and add chicken broth to the drippings.
• Strain the au jus, place in a medium sized saute pan, and heat until warmed.
• Taste and adjust salt and pepper, to taste
• Add the sliced pork to the warmed au jus (ensure the au jus is not too hot or your meat will continue to cook). Slice rolls or baguette
• To make sandwiches, layer bread with provolone cheese (on bottom), followed by a pile of hot sliced or shredded pork in the au jus, and top with the broccoli rabe and peppers.

PHILLY (ITALIAN STYLE) HOT ROAST PORK SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place pork roast in a baking dish (I use a 9 x 13 inch glass pyrex dish).
• Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, Italian seasoning and garlic flakes.
• Roast in oven for about 15 minutes or until juices start running and fat starts to melt and brown in the bottom of the pan, then add water to about 1/2 inch up the pan.
• Check every half hour or so and if water gets low, add a bit more to so it's about 1/2 inch up the pan every time.
• Each time you add the water, pour some over the roast, so the top does not get too dry.
• Roast until internal temperature reads 165-170 degrees (About an hour and a half TOTAL cooking time).
• Trim all visible fat from roast and discard.
• Slice roast very thin, in the pan if possible, so you don't lose any juices.
• If all goes well, the juices/gravy at the bottom of the pan should look golden brown, with darker flecks of spices, garlic and some little pieces of meat.
• Serve slices of pork on rolls, making sure that the slices have soaked up some of the juices (you can drizzle more juices on top, if you like, or you can thicken the gravy with water and cornstarch or flour, if desired).
• Enjoy!