This article was written by Breweries In PA Contributor Paired Pints.
Coffee. Beer. Two things I love. Two things I don’t think this town could exist without. Luckily I know of a place within walking distance that has both. For the sake of trying to sound cool, let’s just call this place my morning haunt. You can find me here a couple of days a week – ordering a latte and a breakfast sandwich and probably drooling over their vegan and gluten-free baked goods selection.
Steel City Coffeehouse opened in 1996 and quickly evolved into a go-to spot for creatives in the town. When Ed and Laura Simpson took over Steel City in 2016, they decided to put a nano brewery in to help support show nights with artists. In 2018 they started to renovate the basement, creating a unique brewery in the company of other breweries in Phoenixville. In 2019 they began serving their house-brewed beers.
This one is the most extensive recipe of the bunch. It requires about a full weekend’s worth of preparation to get it right. BUT! When you get it right, it’s one of the best darn sandwiches you’ll ever have. Being pretty new to smoking and cooking outside on a winter day, it took me a little while – I believe I was somewhere around the three and a half to four-hour mark when I was done. I knew if I could get the temperature-controlled, I had full faith that all of this work would be worth it.
The Beer:
It’s a clean Czech-style pilsner made with predominantly Pilsen malt and some Vienna malt along with Saaz hops. It’s then cold fermented in the traditional lager style. When you have a sandwich, to which you’ve devoted so much time and love, drinking something like this clean and refreshing pilsner is just icing on the cake. This Pilsner comes in at 4% abv.
Pork roast
-Score the outside in a crosshatch pattern
Brine:
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes ( I didn’t have black peppercorns)
• 2 bay leaf
• 2 to 4 stems dried Rosemary
• 3 smashed clove garlic
• 3 tbsp table salt (or 30 g of any other salt)
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• Ice water
Let sit for at least 3 hours
To prepare the brine, place one cup of water into a small pot and bring to a simmer. Add the salt and sugar and stir to dissolve.
Smash the whole clove of garlic and add it to the pot. Press the juniper berries to release their aroma. Add the berries, peppercorns, bay leaves and thyme and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and let steep for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Before using the brine, add the 3 remaining cups of cold water (including ice, if needed). For food safety, the brine must be very cold before the meat can be added.
Marinade:
Orange juice (enough to fill vessel)
2 shots of Bluebird rum
Chopped mango pieces
4-5 Calabrian chilies
4 cloves of crushed garlic
• In a large pot or a polycarbonate tub, add all ingredients, give it a stir, and add the pork roast.
• Let it sit overnight.
Smoking
Rub:
Trader Joe’s Coffee Rub
½ cup Wegman’s Bee Pollen
½ cup Old Bay
Drip Pan:
Apple Juice
Light Beer
Mop Sauce:
1 cup of orange juice
2 Tbsp of honey
4 Tbsp gochujang
• Remove pork roast from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Then set aside on a baking sheet.
• Combine all ingredients for the rub in a small bowl and stir using a small whisk.
• Sprinkle the rub evenly, flipping twice. Lightly pat in the rub.
• Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F. Do everything you can to maintain that temperature.
• Place the pork roast in the smoker and insert the thermometer.
• Brush the roast with you “mop” every 40-45 minutes. Smoke until the internal temperature of your roast reads 145-155 degrees F. Remove from the smoker, loosely cover with parchment paper, then with foil, and then with a towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
• Slice your pork roast against the grain into 1/4 inch thick slices.
Let’s make the sandwich!
You’ve put in the hours, the sweat, hopefully, no tears and now it’s time to make the sandwich.
Pull apart steak rolls
Butter
Pickles
Original Hot Mister Mustard
Grillo’s Pickles
Pork Roll
Sliced Provolone Cheese
Panini Press Method:
Butter the panini and the bread. Turn to medium-high heat. Cook until both sides are golden brown.
Pan Method:
Butter the pan and the bread and turn the stovetop to medium-high. While the bread is cooking, place the heaviest pan on top, allowing gravity to push down on the bread as it cooks. Flip and check with a spatula until golden brown.
Don’t Forget the Pork Roll:
On medium-high heat, lightly oil the pan and add pork roll (I refuse to say Taylor ham). You’ll need 2 pieces per sandwich. Cook them till they have a very light char on them, place aside on a plate.
Keeping the stovetop on medium-high heat, add your slices of pork to the pan. Use the fat from the pork roll to get it crispy. Cook for about 1 minute on each side. Add one slice of provolone cheese to each piece. Wait about 30 seconds and place each piece on a plate.
Sandwich! Assemble!
• Spread Mister mustard on both sides of the bread.
• Layer two pieces of pork roll on the bottom roll.
• Layer of pickles
• Layer of the sliced pork roast and cheese.
• Layer of pickles.
• Complete the sandwich by adding the top roll.
Enjoy this. You worked hard for it. These are great as leftovers, it lasted me most of the week.
Steel City Coffeehouse & Brewery is open 7 days a week and offers crowlers, growlers, pints, and flights. The kitchen is always open and serves breakfast all day. The brewery always has 3 different beers on tap and will be adding a fourth brew to the rotation by mid-2021.
