Spiced pork spit-roast kontosouvli with garlic-infused olive oil

If you’d like, you can use pork leg along with the layer of fat. Cut it into large pieces 8x8 cm approximately. Use a blender to blend the garlic cloves. Then, add the olive oil and the truffle oil to the blender, and pulse a few times. Set the mixture aside for a while, until the olive oil is infused with the garlic flavor. Place the pieces of pork in a large vessel, and pour the garlic-infused olive oil over the meat. Massage the meat and set aside until you’ve prepared the rest of the ingredients for the next stages of the marinating process. 

Place the cream cheese and the Greek yogurt into a blender. Add the ground black pepper, the oregano, 1 tsp of truffle oil, and the long hot peppers. Blend it all together until the mixture is smooth. Set aside, and add the mustard to the meat. Massage the meat before you add the mixture you prepared to the pieces of pork. Mix/massage the meat one more time to cover all of the pieces evenly. Marinate for 2-3 hours at room temperature (<18°C). Ideally, you can marinate in the fridge for 6-12 hours.

Before skewering the meat, light the charcoals. Pile up the charcoals inside the charcoal case of your grill by covering its base. If possible, depending on your grill, place the charcoals in the middle of the base and close to both the back spit and the front spit. Then, use two large spits to skewer the pieces of meat and adjust the amount of charcoal accordingly. After adding the charcoals to your grill, place the kindling (denatured alcohol-soaked cotton) on top. They will be lit easily, quickly, and without smoke. The charcoals light upside down from top to bottom. When they are fully lit it’s time to grill.

While you’re waiting for the charcoals to turn white-hot, skewer the pieces of meat onto the spits. Skewer them as evenly as possible by making sure to distribute the pieces of fat evenly. Don’t wipe off the excess marinade; leave as much as it can be held on each piece.

When you’ve skewered all the pieces, wrap the meat in two layers of pork caul fat. Place the caul fat in a bowl of warm water to spread it flat. While it’s still wet, wrap it around the skewered meat and gently press it against the pieces of meat to stick it on them. When the charcoals are fully lit, place the spit at least 15 cm away from the lit coals and grill over medium heat. Keep the right distance between the meat and the coals to ensure that the heat is directed evenly from the coals throughout the session. To achieve that, lower the spit when the emitted heat decreases. Grill for 3-3.5 hours and over high heat during the last 30 minutes.

Remove the spit-roast from the grill when the internal temperature reaches 80-85⁰C (176-185⁰F). Let it rest for 20 minutes. Then, serve your friends and enjoy together the unique and spicy flavor that the garlic oil brings to this dish. It goes well with fine red wine. Good company is a must.

Happy grilling, everyone!