The Times’ own staffer Jim Webster has advanced to the quarterfinals of Mario Batali’s Ultimate Grilling Challenge. With what started as a variation on turducken (a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken), Webster took things in a new, molto Italiano direction, ending up with his inspired recipe for Pig-Wrapped Pig-Stuffed Pig. It features homemade pork sausage flavored gently with orange zest and toasted fennel, stuffed in a pork tenderloin which is then wrapped carefully with pancetta and grilled.

We may be biased, but surely Webster’s recipe (and accompanying video) beats the other six quarterfinalists hands-down. Semifinalists will be picked by popular vote, which starts on Monday. To cast your vote for our local hero, visit the website until Sept. 29 (registering automatically enters voters in a sweepstakes to win one of ten autographed copies of Mario Batali’s latest cookbook, Italian Grill). The three highest-ranked videos at the end of the two week period will go on to the semifinal round. Let’s send our Prince of Pork Products all the way to the finals—the winner receives tickets to Dickies 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on November 2, 2008, preceded by a tailgating party with Mario Batali and Rachael Ray who’ll be grilling up the winning recipe. Pig-Wrapped Pig-Stuffed Pig has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?