Spiessbraten with jicama, cucumber and dill salad

Originally from the Palatine region in western Germany, spiessbraten is one of the world’s truly great grilled pork dishes. The ingredients are simple – pork, onion and sometimes garlic. The seasonings are even simpler – salt and pepper. I’ve added mustard, ham, cheese, and poblano chiles to make my San Antonio version. The wood smoke from the fire is out of this world.

Spiessbraten with jicama salad. Credit: Planet BBQ

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  1:45 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork shoulder roast or loin (4 to 5 pounds)
• Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup Dusseldorf-style mustard
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 poblano chilli, thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 large dill pickle, thinly sliced crosswise
• 3 slices (175g / 6 oz) smoked ham (like Black Forest ham)
• 6 slices muenster cheese
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 rosemary sprigs

Jicama salad

• 1 medium jicama (about 450 g / 1 lb), peeled (see Note)
• 2 cucumbers, peeled

Salad dressing

• ¾ cup sour cream
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) white wine vinegar or other white vinegar, or to taste
• 1 scallion (green onioin), trimmed and thinly sliced (save 3 tsp of greens for garnish)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

You’ll also need: butcher’s string; a rotisserie; and ideally, beechwood logs, chunks or chips (about 2 cups of the latter).

Instructions

1. Butterfly the pork – that is, make a lengthwise cut through one side almost to but not through the other side, holding the knife blade parallel to the cutting board. Open up the pork roast as you would a book. Using the side of a heavy cleaver, a scallopini pounder, or a rolling pin, lightly flatten the butterflied pork.
2. Generously season the inside of the pork with salt and pepper. Spread with mustard. Layer 3 slices of cheese, 3 slices of ham, a single layer of pickles, and the remaining 3 slices of cheese. Arrange the onion, poblano and pickle slices, ham, and cheese on top. Fold the other side over the pork to return it to its original cylindrical shape. Using butcher’s string, tie the roast into a tight cylinder. Tuck the rosemary and bay leaves under the butcher’s twine and against the pork roast.
3. Set up your grill for indirect rotisserie grilling. Ideally, you’ll spit-roast using a wood fire (preferably beechwood). Place the roast on the grill and spit-roast until crusty and browned on the outside and the internal temperature reaches 88°C (190°F). This will take 1½-2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, make the salad: Cut the jicama into 5-6 mm (¼ inch) sticks. Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and scrape out and discard the seeds. Thinly slice the cucumbers crosswise.
5. Make the dressing: Place the sour cream in a mixing bowl or salad bowl. Whisk in the olive oil, vinegar, scallion, dill and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Just before serving, stir the jicama and cucumber into the dressing. Sprinkle the scallion greens on top and serve.
7. When the spiessbraten is cooked, transfer to a wire rack and let it rest for 5 minutes, removing the butcher’s string. Thinly slice the roast crosswise and serve with the cucumber jicama dill salad.

 

Note

Jicama is a crisp, turnip-shaped, tan-skinned, white-fleshed root vegetable that tastes like a cross between an apple and a potato. And that’s just by itself! There’s nothing like it for adding a refreshing crunch to a salsa or salad. This salad may take people by surprise, but it’s guaranteed to have them coming back for seconds.

 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.