First-Class Crispy Square
A traditional Sichuan-style banquet dish made by preparing bone-in pork through piercing, singeing the skin, brushing with seasonings, and roasting, resulting in a golden, crispy, savory centerpiece.
Ingredients
Pork elbow (thick fat, smooth skin, with elbow bone, approx 45 cm square, cleaned and trimmed)
750 grams
Sichuan salt (mixed with Shaoxing wine to brush on the rind)
2 grams
Shaoxing wine (mixed with Sichuan salt to brush on the rind)
100 grams
Sesame oil (brushed on the crust after roasting)
50 grams
Instructions
1
Ingredient preparation
Select a piece of pork with thick fat, smooth skin, occasional bone, about 45 cm square, scrape clean and trim. Place the skin side down on a cutting board, use a sharp long bamboo skewer 0.5 cm in diameter to pierce the gaps between the ribs on the lean side. Dry the water from the meat, then use an iron roasting fork to pierce through the lean meat between the ribs and fat, with the fork tip extending about 30 cm outside the meat block.
2
Searing the skin
Open flame in the oven (keep the flame about 40 cm above the oven), then hold the fork handle and bring the skin side of the meat close to the flame. While searing, adjust the heat and rotate the fork left and right: first turn left until the skin makes an 85-degree angle with the ground, then turn right to the same angle, repeatedly. Rotate faster in the middle of the oven and slower at the ends, focusing on the sides and corners of the meat. Continue until the pores of the skin release a lot of oil, like boiling water; the coarser outer skin will form a thin black crust and fall off. Then move the meat away from the flame, clean the fork tip with a cloth, remove the meat, gently scrape off the charred shell with a knife, then rinse in warm water twice, pat dry, and brush the skin with the sauce made from Sichuan salt and Shaoxing wine.
3
Roasting
Place the fork horizontally in the oven, first roast the side with ribs toward the fire for about 5 minutes, then roast the skin side toward the fire, rotating the fork left and right (same angle as before but slightly faster). When the meat starts to release oil, push the red coals in the oven to the sides, placing more at the front and back, and clear the central sparks to prevent oil drops from igniting the flame. Continue rotating and baking. When the meat turns golden, test with a knife tip; a dull 'puff' sound indicates doneness. Then move the skin away from the oven, brush the crust with sesame oil, clean the fork tip, remove the crispy square, skin side up, onto a large plate.
4
Plating
Use a knife to flatly slice off the crispy skin, cut into 5 cm long, 2 cm wide pieces, and arrange them on the meat in their original shape for serving.
