Smoked Pork Neck Wrapped in Rhubarb Leaves

Wrap the pork neck in a rhubarb leaf. The leaf protects the surface of the meat and prevents the liquid in the meat to evaporate and get dry.

INGREDIENTS:

Serves four people

5 pounds, 1,8 kilos of pork neck, pre-salted in a 2 percent brine for 1 day

Extra salt

2-3 tablespoons fresh or dried thyme and rosemary

One rhubarb with a large leaf

PREPARATION:

Very important! The leaves of rhubarb are, in fact, poisonous so it should only protect the meat while it is on the grill. It should NOT be eaten.

You need a charcoal grill with a lid, wood shavings (preferably oak or beech) and aluminum foil.

Do like this:

Remove the pork from the brine, and rinse it well. Put it in a big pan and fill it with water until the meat is barely covered. Bring the water to a boil and reduce the heat until simmering at about 175 degrees Fahrenheit or 80 Celsius. Use a meat thermometer and let it simmer until the core temperature of the meat is 158 degrees Fahrenheit or 70 Centigrades.

Remove the meat from the pan. Leave it in a dish to cool down for 15 minutes on the kitchen counter.

Meanwhile, ignite the grill, with all the charcoal on one side of the grill. Then you´ll have two temperature zones: one intensely hot, and one that is just hot.

Wrap the pork in the rhubarb leaf. The point is that the leaf will protect the meat from drying, when you put it on the grill, and remember that the rhubarb leaf should NOT be eaten!

Wrap smoke shavings in a sheet of aluminum foil and place it on top of the glowing charcoal. Place the rhubarb-covered pork meat on top of a gridiron on the hot side of the grill and put on the lid.

Adjusts airflow to maximize smoke and not fire. Let the meat smoke for 10-15 minutes, then take it off the grill. Leave it in the rhubarb leaf for another 10 minutes.

Remove all rhubarb leaves from the meat, and slice the meat into nice thin slices, and serve with potato salad and baked celery.

Side dish:

Baked celery and potato salad.