Porchetta

Porchetta is a classic Italian pork roast that's also great in sandwiches. Left to infuse with herbs, fennel and salt overnight, the flavor is delicious, the fat crisp. So good.

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A few weeks ago when we were reviewing the add-on options for our meat delivery, I saw pork belly as one of the options and immediately thought of porchetta.

I had never made it before, but had memories of eating delicious porchetta sandwiches from food stalls in London years ago and decided it was about time I gave it a go. So, the pork belly was ordered and a plan was hatched.

After doing a bit of research, it's another of those old recipes that has many variations, so I came up with the following that tries to make the most of the tasty herb and fennel filling/marinade without being too complicated. It was certainly incredibly delicious and fed us with tasty sandwiches for days (in fact we still have some leftovers in the freezer).

How do you make a porchetta?

On the face of it, itmight seem like a bit of work to make porchetta because of the time involved, but there really isn't that much hands-on time. Let me break down the steps:

The night before:

Mix up the rub and spread it all over the pork,
Tie it up and refrigerate overnight, at least (if you need a bit more help with tying the pork, see pictures and lengthier descriptionin mySpanish-style stuffed pork tenderloinwhich uses the same technique).
Dab off excess moisture as the rub gets to work.

The day of cooking:

Start with a long, low roast followed by a short high burst to crisp it up.
Let it rest a little then carve.

Much as I love pork belly (as I explain in mydelicious crisped pork belly with whisky-soy sauce), for this recipe it's best in partnership. After looking at a few options on making porchetta, I decided the best way to make it was with both a pork belly and a pork tenderloin, to be most like the cut originally used in traditional recipes.

This givesa good balance of both fatty and less fatty cuts to balance fattiness, meatiness and flavor, without you having to do a home butchering job as some recipes I saw would have you doing. It also makes a more reasonable size of roast for a small to medium-sized crowd.

The final flourish

It's important to give a blast of the hotter oven at the end as this crisps up the skin. However keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn. And look how beautiful it becomes!

It's also incredibly tasty, thanks to that rub. And the fact it's crisped pork belly which I think is always good, even if it isn't necessarily the healthiest. But everything in moderation, right? As you can see there's a whole lot of delicious meat in there too, and it also takeson all that tasty flavor.

Porchetta is a great dish that you definitely need to try at least once. It makes a great main for a holiday or party - some simple sides like roast potatoes and greens would work well. And while big, it's just as good ifthere are less of you, since as I say the leftovers are great in sandwiches and you can freeze it.I might just have to order a pork belly again soon to have some more.

Try these other delicious roasts:

Garlic herb roasted chicken
Lechon asado (Cuban roast pork)
Kleftiko (Greek roasted lamb)
Sauerbraten (German pot roast)
Plus get many more main courses in the archives.

Tools to make this

I'd recommend using a non-stick roaster with rack to cook this on such as theCirculon Nonstick Bakeware 17-Inch by 13-Inch Roaster with U-Rack.

You may also find an Instant Read Meat Thermometer useful (affiliate links).

Remember to pin this for later.

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

An Italian way to roast pork that's so full of flavor (and makes fantastic sandwiches!)

Cook Time2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Total Time2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 8 approx

Calories: 879kcal

Author: Caroline's Cooking

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Ingredients

2 lb pork belly 1 slab, approx
1 lb pork tenderloin or larger also fine
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 cloves garlic or 3, depending on size, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon fennel fronds
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
1 tablespoon fresh sage chopped
2 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped
1 lemon zest
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ teaspoon salt divided
1 tablespoon olive oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pat the pork belly dry to remove any excess moisture. Score the fat side of the belly in a wide cross pattern, cutting into the fat but not as far as the meat. Turn belly so meat side is up. Lay tenderloin on top and trim the end if it hangs over the end - you want it about the same length. You can either tuck the chopped off piece in any thinner bit inside or use for something else. Alternatively you can cut and lay two pieces side by side if it is very long (as I did).
Toast the fennel seeds a minute in a dry skillet/frying pan until fragrant. Crush them with a pestle and mortar and add all other ingredients. Start with the garlic, which should be roughly chopped then crushed with the seeds. Only use 1tsp salt at this stage. Alternatively, add all ingredients to a small food processor and pulse. Either way, you want a relatively smooth paste.
Spread about ¾ of the paste over the meat side of the belly and around the tenderloin pieces so they are evenly coated.
Tie up the belly by rolling the belly around the tenderloin and tying at one end, then using the long end of the string, move along about 1-2in and loop again by threading through and keep repeating until you reach the other end, then tie off at the other end. Each time you loop/tie, pull the string tight so it's against the meat but not too tight that it squeezes the loin out.
Rub the remaining herb paste over the outside of the belly along with the additional ½tsp of salt.
Refrigerate at least a day uncovered. Dab once or twice to remove any excess moisture.
On day of cooking, allow the pork to come to room temperature as you preheat oven to 275F/135C.
Roast for approx 2hrs. (Note this is time if both tenderloin and belly are about 2lb each; give a bit less or more if smaller/larger). You're looking to cook until a meat thermometer gives internal temp of 150F/65C.
Increase oven temperature to 450F/230C and roast until the skin is brown and crisp but not burnt - keep a close eye on it. This will be around 15-25min.

Nutrition

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