Porchetta Italian Roast Pork Recipes

PORCHETTA PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Score skin and fat all over pork, taking care not to cut down to the meat.
• In a food processor or mortar and pestle, combine fennel fronds, rosemary, sage, garlic, lemon zest, salt, fennel seed, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Pour in oil. Pulse or mash until it forms a paste. Rub all over pork. If using a boneless roast, tie with kitchen string at 2-inch intervals. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 6 hours and preferably overnight.
• Remove pork from refrigerator 1 to 2 hours before you want to cook it. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Transfer pork to a rimmed baking sheet and roast 35 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 degrees and cook an additional 2 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 180 degrees, which will give you sliceable, tender meat. (Bone-in roasts will take longer than boneless ones.)
• Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 15 to 30 minutes before serving. Make sure everyone gets some of the cracklings.

PORCHETTA (AUTHENTIC ITALIAN PORK ROAST)

Steps:

• Open the piece of pork onto the butcher paper or clean countertop, skin side down.
• Sprinkle generously with the salt, then work the salt into the pork.
• Next, add the rosemary. We used fresh rosemary as I have a bush in my garden. Rub it and crush it between your fingers to release the oils.Add the freshly ground black pepper all over the porchetta. Now add the fennel pollen. Sprinkle evenly over the pork, but save a little of the pollen for after the porchetta has been rolled.
• Roll it tightly, but as you roll it, sprinkly some salt onto the unseasoned pork. Continue rolling until you reach the end.
• Keeping the seam side down, start tying the pork. Another pair of hands will make this part immensely easier. There's no need for fancy ties or sailors' knots, just wrap, double knot and cut.
• Repeat every few inches. The goal is only to keep the porchetta closed, so don't tie it too tightly, either. As you can see, ours is far from perfect, but unless you're serving the Queen of England, it won't matter.
• Turn the roast seam side up and add more seasonings, including the rest of the fennel pollen to the non-skin parts of the pork which are exposed (including the ends).
• Place seam side down on a rack on a roasting pan or baking tray. Cover the ends with aluminum foil and secure with toothpicks.
• Drizzle with olive oil and rub all over the skin with your hands. Sprinkle with more salt and rosemary.
• Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C).
• Place in the hot oven when it comes to temperature and roast for 1 hour, then lower the temperature to 350°F (170°C) and continue to cook for about another 2 hours. Check the center of the roast when it reaches 170°F (76°C) remove from the oven. Take the foil off the ends and place on top of the porchetta, and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.
• Using a sharp knife, remove one or two of the pieces of twine. Cut into slices and serve on crusty Italian rolls, or bread, Italian style!

CRISPY ROASTED PORCHETTA

Steps:

• Score the skin of the pork belly with an extremely sharp knife or a razor blade (or ask your butcher to do it). Poke the flesh side all over with the tip of a paring knife.
• Put the fennel seeds and peppercorns in a small dry skillet; toast over medium heat until very fragrant and a few shades darker, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool, then grind in a spice grinder. Mix the ground spices with the red pepper flakes, sage, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, orange zest, garlic and 2 tablespoons salt. Rub the mixture into the flesh side of the pork belly.
• Roll the belly up as tightly as possible and secure it with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals. Rub the outside with the baking powder and 1 tablespoon salt. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 1 to 2 days.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Set the rolled pork belly in a large roasting pan and roast until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 hours. Increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees F and roast until the skin is golden brown and crisp all over, about 20 minutes more. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.

PORCHETTA - ITALIAN MARKETPLACE SLOW ROAST PULLED PORK SANDWICH

Steps:

• Lay the pork on a large chopping board and cover with cling film. With a rolling pin, mallet, or other suitable blunt object, pound the meat as close to an even 1" thickness that you can manage.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium high. Add all of the chopped onion, half the minced garlic, half the fennel seeds, all of the rosemary and bay, half of the ground cloves, salt and pepper, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until all the fragrance has been released from the herbs and spices. Transfer to a plate to cool.
• Spread and rub this mixture over and into the pork, then roll the meat up as tightly and neatly as you can. Tie with kitchen string at intervals.
• Mix the remaining ingredients (minced garlic, fennel seeds, ground cloves, olive oil) and rub it over the outside of the pork. Cover it with cling film and refrigerate 24 hours, or at least overnight.
• Remove the meat 40 minutes before cooking to allow it to return to room temperature. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150C/300F Take the cling film off the pork and place the pork joint in to a roasting tin.
• Cook the pork for 4 hours to 5 hours, until it is falling apart when you test it with a knife or fork. If the spices on the surface start to char too badly (a little blackness is a good thing), tent foil loosely over the roast. (I find I need to cover it for the last hour of cooking.).
• CROCK POT - at this stage, cook the pork in a crock pot for 4 to 5 hours on high, or on automatic for up to 8 hours.
• Remove from the oven and leave to rest at least 30 minutes to one hour. Slice, pull or shred the meat and serve in warmed ciabatta rolls.

STUFFED PORCHETTA

Steps:

• Score the pork belly skin with a sharp knife in a cross pattern. Score down to just before where the skin meets the fat, rather than the fat itself. Bring a large saucepan of water to a simmer and add the bicarbonate of soda. Lower the pork into the water, poach gently for 5 mins, then remove it from the water and leave to cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, toast the fennel seeds and chilli flakes in a dry frying pan over a high heat for 1-2 mins, then tip into a bowl and leave to cool. Grind the spices in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar, then mix with 1 tbsp fine sea salt.
• Once the pork has cooled, turn it skin-side down and pierce the underside of the meat all over with a knife. Rub the meat with the spiced salt rub, cover and put it in the fridge for at least 8 hrs or overnight. Can be prepared 24 hours ahead.
• The next day, make your stuffing. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the onion and fennel. Season and cook gently over a low heat for 10 mins. Add the coriander seeds and garlic, and cook for another 2 mins, then add the mince. Cook for 8-10 mins until the mince is browned. Set aside and leave to cool.
• Transfer the mince and onion mix to a bowl and add the sourdough, pine nuts, orange zest, apricots, herbs, lemon juice and nutmeg. Season well, then mix together thoroughly with your hands. Add the egg and mix again.
• Lie the pork belly on a board, skin-side down. Form the stuffing into a sausage shape running all the way down the middle of the belly. Wrap the sides of the belly around the stuffing and tie with butcher's string. Place seam-side down in a roasting tin, uncovered, and chill for at least 2 hrs, preferably overnight. You want the skin to dry out completely so that it crisps up when you roast it.
• To cook the pork, remove it from the fridge and leave it for at least 1 hr to come to room temperature before you cook it. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4 and cook the pork for about 2 hrs, turning the tin every 30 mins or so. After 2 hrs, turn the heat up to 220C/ 200C fan/gas 7 and cook for another 20 mins. When the pork is done, a thermometer pushed into its centre should read 77C. If the skin looks in danger of burning, cover it with foil - but only do this once it has crackled.
• Once the pork has cooked, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 30 mins. When you're ready to carve, put the pork on a big chopping board. Using a sharp knife, slice the meat into rounds.

PORCHETTA: STUFFED AND ROLLED ITALIAN PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Spread out the loin so it's flat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Chop off the top of the fennel bulb and save the fuzzy fronds. Quarter the bulb then slice very thinly. Finely chop the fronds.​
• In a skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and add the sliced fennel bulb, onion, garlic, fennel seeds, pepper flakes, and rosemary. Sauté about 8 minutes until lightly browned.
• Add the ground pork to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until it is no longer pink.​ Add the reserved fennel fronds. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust the seasoning as needed. Transfer to a mixing bowl and allow to cool.
• Add the panko, beaten egg, and lemon zest to the cooked pork mixture.​
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 F. Lay the pork belly, skin-side down, on a work surface. Use a sharp paring knife to score a cross-hatch pattern into the belly. This enables the extra fat to be rendered and allows the skin to crisp.
• Turn the belly over, skin-side up, and pierce small slits all over. Use a meat tenderizer to pound the pork belly all over.
• Lay the flat pork loin on top of the pork belly. Spread the browned ground pork mixture evenly over the pork loin.
• Roll the belly and loin together like a jelly roll. Tie with butcher's twine at intervals to hold it all together.
• Liberally season the porchetta with salt and pepper and set it on a rack in a roasting pan or a rimmed baking sheet.
• Roast for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 145 F on an instant-read thermometer . If the porchetta skin is not yet browned, increase the oven temperature to 500 F and roast 10 more minutes.​
• Let the porchetta rest 20 minutes, then carve into slices and serve.