Bombette Pugliesi (Traditional Italian Meat Rolls)

Ingredients

• 8 thin slices pork butt (- (capocollo))
• 8 thin slices pancetta
• 80 g caciocavallo cheese (- 3 oz)
• 1 clove garlic
• a small bunch fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt (- to taste)
• black pepper (- to taste)

Instructions

1. 1

   --- PREPARE THE MEAT ---

2. 2

   Pound: Cover the pork butt slice with a sheet of baking paper. Then pound the slices with a meat pounder to make them even thinner. Pugliese bombette are small, 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches), so the slices should not be very large. From one slice you usually make two rolls by cutting it in half.

3. 3

   Season the pork slices with a little salt and pepper.

4. 4

   --- THE STUFFING ---

5. 5

   Add: Lay a slice of pancetta on top of the meat. Meanwhile, thinly slice the caciocavallo cheese and set aside.

6. 6

   Chop: With a small chopper, chop the garlic and parsley.

7. 7

   Add: Place the caciocavallo slices on the pancetta. Then add the chopped parsley and garlic.

8. 8

   Fold: Finally fold the stuffed pork slices in two. PLEASE NOTE: If you do not want to eat the garlic, rub the pork slice with the garlic clove, just to give it some flavor, and then stuff them.

9. 9

   --- CLOSE THE BOMBETTE ---

10. 10

    Close the slice of meat tightly to form small round pork balls. Secure the ends with wooden toothpicks. PLEASE NOTE: To make authentic bombette pugliesi, you should not roll the slice of meat completely, rather create small balls by folding the sides, as if it were a package, and close it with toothpicks.

11. 11

    Season: Sprinkle the bombetta with a little salt and pepper to taste.

12. 12

    --- THE COOKING: THREE METHODS ---

13. 13

    FRY PAN: Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan. Place the bombette and let them brown over medium heat for 10 minutes. Turn the meat over and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or so, until the Pugliese bombette are well cooked on the inside and golden brown on the outside.

14. 14

    BAKE: Alternatively, you can bake the pugliese bombette in a preheated oven at 200°C (392°F) for 20 minutes and finish roasting under the grill for a few minutes.

15. 15

    BBQ: BARBEQUE: Of course, the best cooking is still on the barbecue, if you have it available. For barbecue, it is best to skewer 3 or 4 bowlers on a single skewer so that they can be more conveniently arranged on the grill.