I did a test run yesterday on the home sized prochetta. There were several things that din't quite go the way I thought they would, but overall the results were good. My son found the butcher shop where we got the pork belly, I have never been there. It is a third generation family farm where they butcher and sell their own hogs, what's not to like! I called, asked if the had pork belly, they said yes and told me how much per lb. I told them I wanted around 5 lbs. with skin on and just assumed it would be fresh. My son comes back with a 3 lb. piece of frozen and skinless pork belly that was only about 8" square. It was a lot fattier than I was looking for and was not big enough to wrap around the tenderloin.
I ended up butterflying it, which actually did not turn out to be too bad of a way to do it. Used a pork rub on the tenderloin and the pork belly. I blended together fresh parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, and ground chestnuts in a magic bullet for the inside of the belly. Tied it together and went a couple of hours at around 375.
For compairison, I also did a stuffed pork loin with spinach, mushrooms, onions, garlic, ground cheastnuts, and smoked gouda cheese. It turned out very nice, but of the people that sampled the food, they all like the prochetta better. So it looks like I will make a few modifications (and a more detailed talk with the butcher) and go for broke in another week. My phone died, so I hope to post pictures tomorrow.
