Porchetta Limoncello Recipes

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.

LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Grate the zest from the lemons using a Microplane grater, taking care to leave the pith behind. Place the zest in a 3-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over it and stir. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a spot where it won't be disturbed, at room temperature, and let steep 1 week.
• Combine 3 1/2 cups water and the sugar in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
• Let cool completely, then pour the syrup into the pitcher with the zest and stir. Cover tightly again and let stand for 24 hours. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids. Pour into clean bottles with tight-fitting caps. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 1 month.

PORCHETTA LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Cut pork into 1/2-inch thick slices, then pound each piece flat into 1/4-inch thick pieces.
• Season both sides of pork pieces with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, shake lightly, and set aside.
• Heat olive oil in large (12 or 14-inch) non-stick skillet over medium high heat, until smoking.
• Working in batches (make sure to leave space between pieces or it won't brown properly--saute pork in hot oil until lightly golden brown on both sides (about 2 minutes per side). Set pork pieces aside when done.
• In the same skillet, reduce heat to low and melt butter.
• Once the butter is melted, add limoncello (careful--it will steam very high for a couple of seconds). Simmer for about two minutes, then add all of the pork pieces, overlapping slightly if necessary.
• Raise the heat to medium-low, and immediately sprinkle the garlic over the top, then cover pan with lid and simmer five minutes more.
• Turn pork over, squeeze about six lemon slices in between pork and layer the top with pepperoncini slices. Cover and simmer an additional three minutes. Pork should have a deep golden color when done.
• Arrange pork on a serving platter, drizzle any remaining sauce over the meat, then garnish plate with remaining lemon slices and whole pepperoncinis.

PORCHETTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put the pancetta in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it forms a paste. Transfer to a bowl and mix in by hand the garlic, citrus zests, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, capers and 2 tablespoons salt until thoroughly blended.
• Put the ham flesh-side up on a cutting board and score the meat with the tip of a sharp knife every inch or so in a cross-hatch pattern. Rub the pancetta paste into the meat, making sure to get it into the score marks. Flip the ham over and score the skin with the knife as you did the flesh. Roll the ham up skin-side out and secure with kitchen twine. Season the skin lightly with salt.
• Put the pork in a roasting pan and transfer to the oven to roast for 2 hours.
• Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and roast until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees F and the skin is nice and crisp, about 1 hour, 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let rest for 30 minutes. Thinly slice the porchetta before serving.

CREMA DI LIMONCELLO

Steps:

• Zest the lemons using a lemon zester or the fine groove side of a grater. Place the zest and the Everclear in a container and allow to infuse in a dark, cool place for a week. (If you can't find Everclear, a very good-quality vodka can be used.) After a week has passed strain the liquid through the cheesecloth into a very large glass, stainless steel, or ceramic bowl.
• In a large stockpot or sauce pan, warm the milk, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds and pod over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature (this will take a few hours). Discard the vanilla bean and strain the mixture through the cheesecloth.
• Combine the Everclear infusion with the sweet milk and stir together. Pass through a colander lined with cheesecloth to catch any solids. Funnel into bottles and store in the freezer. Be sure to leave room in the bottles for the mixture to expand if it freezes to avoid an explosion. Use within six months. Serve small amounts in chilled glasses.