I first encountered this dish in 2019 at a dinner at Garde Manger in Montreal and I immediately became a fan. Back in my previous hometown of Sudbury, Ontario porketta is kind of like a religion. The preparation – and the ever popular “porketta bingo” – is a thing of legend and there is ongoing competition around which butcher makes the best in town. Unfortunately for me, this delicacy is somewhat difficult to find in Ottawa, but I’m happy that I have a regular pipeline of the product coming from Sudbury on a regular basis!
All this said, this recipe is most likely considered sacrilege considering that it calls for a giant piece of porketta to be chopped and turned into a ground version of it’s former self. However, the result is definitely worth it and even the most extreme porketta purists absolutely love this preparation. I’ve paired this dish with gherkins and both a Zesty Dill BBQ Sauce and Apple Mustard Chutney which make for the perfect appetizer.
Ingredients
- Ingredients for Dredging
Instructions
-
Mise en Place
- Assemble equipment: meat grinder (or stand mixer with grinder attachment), deep fryer or large frying pan, large mixing bowl, medium bowls for dredging, whisk, measuring cups and spoons. Chop porketta and bacon, peel and mince garlic and shallots, prepare dill, melt butter, measure and separate all ingredients. Cooking and Assembly
- Mix cubed porketta, chopped bacon, and dill and grind into a large mixing bowl with a meat grinder on a course setting.
- Add garlic, melted butter, salt, pepper, and 1 egg to the ground porketta and stir well to combine. Use your hands to form the pork mixture into either balls or croquettes (cylindrical shapes) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Prepare a dredge by combining the Panko and Italian breadcrumbs in one dish (mix well), egg and water (whisked) in another dish, and plain flour in a third. Dredge the formed galettes by coating with flour first, dipping in egg mixture, and then rolling in breadcrumbs.
- Place the completed galettes back on the parchment-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes before frying.
- Heat a deep fryer to 375 degrees and fry the galettes for 5 minutes until fully cooked and golden brown. Serve with Zesty Dill BBQ Sauce and Apple Mustard Chutney.
Notes
These galettes can be made ahead and frozen. Just remember to thaw them out fully before frying. This recipe makes enough for approximately 32 individual galettes so the ingredients can be decreased if less are needed. I've served these with both a Zesty Dill BBQ sauce and Apple Mustard Chutney, but they can be eaten with pretty much any sauce (or just plain). One of my friends loves these with a good mustard, for example. They're also great with pickles!