Porchetta Braised Pork Loin Recipes

PORK LOIN IN THE STYLE OF PORCHETTA

Steps:

• In a 10- to 12-inch saute pan, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil over medium-high heat until smoking. Add the sliced onion and fennel and saute until softened and lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes.
• Add the ground pork or sweet Italian sausage, fennel seeds, rosemary, garlic, and 1 to 2 tablespoons pepper (depending on your taste), and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
• Meanwhile, place the pork loin flat on your work surface and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Add all but 1 tablespoon of the fennel fronds, the bread crumbs, and eggs to the pork mixture and mix gently. Spread the mixture over the pork loin. Roll it up, starting from a long side, like a jelly roll, and tie with butcher's twine.☞TESTER TIP: To prevent the filling from squishing out the ends, poke several long skewers through the porchetta near both ends to help close them before tying with twine.
• Scatter the red onions in a roasting pan and place the pork loin on top. Drizzle the pork and onions with olive oil and rub to coat. Roast for 75 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 135°F (57°C).
• Remove the pork loin from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Slice the pork loin into 1-inch-thick pieces. Serve the pork drizzled with the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon, garnished with the reserved fennel fronds, and with the onions on the side. (You can toss any leftovers in the fridge and slice them thin for the king of sandwiches the next day.)

PORCHETTA-STYLE ROAST PORK

Steps:

• Stir fennel seeds in small skillet over medium-high heat until slightly darker in color and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer seeds to spice mill and cool. Add kosher salt, peppercorns, and dried crushed red pepper. Grind to medium-fine consistency (not powder).
• Place pork in 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Rub garlic all over pork, then coat with spice mixture. Loosely cover pork with waxed paper. Refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush large rimmed baking sheet with oil. Place roast, fat side up and coating intact, in center of sheet. Drizzle evenly with 2 tablespoons oil. Roast pork 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Roast pork until very tender and thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 190°F, about 3 hours 15 minutes longer. Transfer pork to cutting board; reserve baking sheet. Let pork rest 15 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour all pan juices into 2-cup measuring cup. Spoon off fat that rises to top. Place reserved baking sheet across 2 burners. Pour wine and broth onto baking sheet and bring to boil over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits. Boil until wine mixture is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 4 minutes. Add degreased pan juices and whisk to blend. Pour pan sauce into small bowl (sauce will be thin).
• Thinly slice roast. Serve with sauce.

CRISPY ROASTED PORCHETTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the oil, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl; mix and set aside.
• Butterfly and open the pork belly like a book so you can roll the pork tenderloin in two rotations.
• Smother the pork belly in some of the spice mixture and set the pork belly aside.
• Smother the pork tenderloin in the spice mixture.
• Place the pork tenderloin at one end of the pork belly and roll until the pork belly ends meet or overlap.
• Tie off the porchetta with baker's twine or pull baker's netting over the porchetta and tie off the ends. Wrap the porchetta in aluminum foil and place on a grill insert inside a deep roasting pan. Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan and cover with foil.
• Roast for 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the foil.
• Remove the porchetta from the roasting pan and remove the foil. Place the porchetta on the insert and place back into the oven, uncovered (this will make the pork belly skin crispy). Continue to roast until the pork belly skin has reached the desired crispness, about 1 hour.
• Remove the porchetta to a cutting board. Slice and serve with the Aioli.
• Place the garlic in a food processor and mince finely. Add the turmeric and mix. Add the mayonnaise and mix; do not overmix, as the mayonnaise can separate.

PORCHETTA

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix together sage, rosemary, oregano, garlic, fennel pollen, salt, pepper, and lemon zest; set aside.
• Place pork belly skin side up on a clean work surface. Using a very sharp knife, score skin in a diamond-shape fashion. Turn pork belly over so that it is skin-side down. Season flesh side of belly with salt and pepper and half of the herb mixture.
• Place pork loin on a cutting board. Holding the blade of the knife parallel to board, cut along the length of the pork loin, but not all the way through. Unfold so that it opens like a book. Place butterflied loin on top of pork belly. Season with salt and pepper and spread with remaining herb mixture.
• Roll pork away from you into a cylindrical shape; tie with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals to make snug.
• Season skin with salt and pepper. Transfer to refrigerator, uncovered, so that it air-dries for 3 days.
• Fit a rimmed baking sheet with a rack and transfer pork to rack. Preheat oven to 500 degrees with a rack set in the lower third of the oven.
• Transfer pork, skin side up, to oven and cook until skin begins to crackle, 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 degrees and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast reaches 135 degrees, about 2 1/2 hours, tenting with foil if necessary. Let stand 30 minutes before slicing.
• Make the salsa verde: In a medium bowl, mix together shallot, parsley, chives, vinegar, oregano, and salt; whisk in olive oil until emulsified. Stir in mustard and lemon juice, set aside.
• Make the sandwich: Cover split sides of rolls with salsa verde. Place 3 porchetta slices and some of the crackling on one half of each of the rolls; top with arugula; and sandwich together with remaining half.

PORCHETTA (BRAISED PORK LOIN)

Steps:

• Butterfly the roast by cutting a slit about 1/2" off of the cutting board until there is just a 1/2" uncut along the length. Lay loin open and cut again until the whole loin lays flat and is basically a 1/2" flat "sheet". Don't worry if the thickness varies, you can pound it flat to make it an even thickness. Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder on flattened loin.
• In a large pan, melt 2 TBS butter. Add 1 TBS of the minced garlic, the sliced mushrooms, spinach and saute until spinach is wilted.
• Spread spinach mixture evenly over flattened pork loin. Lay thinly sliced roasted peppers, thin strips of fontina cheese lengthwise on top of spinach. Spread Parmesan/romano evenly on top. Now you are ready to roll up the loin.
• Tie a loop in the end of the butcher's twine. With the long side of the loin facing you, tuck veggies and cheese and roll up the loin "jelly roll" style. Starting at one end, tie a loop and pull tightly around loin. Create another loop and pull tight. Each loop should be 1-1.5" apart. Continue until the loin is completely tied.
• In a large pan (use a griddle if it is too large) and add 1 TBS of olive oil and 1 TBS of canola oil to pan. Sear the pork loin evenly and remove to a platter. Add celery, carrots, remaining garlic, onions, and saute until soft.
• Add tomato sauce, white wine, chicken broth and bay leaves to pan and bring to a hard simmer. Return the pork loin to the pan making sure it is al least 1/2 covered in liquid. Cover pan and simmer for 2 hours or until thermometer reads at least 160 degrees inside loin. Smaller loins will take less simmering time. If the loin is too large for your pan, I have lined a large baking pan with foil put loin and sauce in (remember to have it covered at least 1/2 way). Then wrap tightly with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 90 minutes (or until thermometer reads 160 degrees).
• Remove from pan and let rest ten minutes, Slice in 1" or larger slices and top with sauce from pan. If sauce is still thin after braising, raise the heat and reduce while loin is resting. If you would like to make a cream based sauce for the pork, continue to reduce the liquid by half. Add enough heavy cream to give it the consistency you want. I then add some shredded parmesan, a little red pepper, some oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. (Not as healthy , but worth the calories!).
• If you eat it all, save remaining sauce and serve later over pasta!