Italian Porchetta

Name: Italian Porchetta
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 4 h 10 min
Total time: 5 h 30 min
Yield: 10 serving
Ingredients: 6 lb pork belly; 3 tbsp fennel seeds; 1 tbsp black peppercorns; 2 tsp Kosher or sea salt; 2 tbsp sage; 2 tbsp rosemary; 8 garlic cloves

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5.0

39 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs 20 mins
Resting time
1 hr
Total Time
5 hrs 30 mins
Servings
10
Calories
1425 kcal
Course
Main Course, Appetizer
Cuisine
Italian

Italian Porchetta

Stella Pitts

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Soft, juicy pork, roasted to perfection with the crunchiest, crispest skin. Fennel, garlic and herbs permeate every mouthful. POrchetta is one of Italy's greatest dishes. Learn how to make it at home...

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Ingredients

Servings

6 lb pork belly (3kg) (skin on)
3 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tsp Kosher or sea salt (or 1 tsp regular salt)
2 tbsp sage (finely chopped)
2 tbsp rosemary (finely chopped)
8 garlic cloves (peeled and finely chopped)

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Instructions

Using paper towels, wipe the pork belly to get it as dry as possible. Wrap the entire belly in towels and leave for an hour to soak up more moisture.
Preheat oven to 300ºF/150ºC
In a dry frying pan, roast the fennel seeds and peppercorns until they start to jump around the pan a little. Pour into a pestle & mortar or spice grinder and grind into a rough powder, like breadcrumbs. You can also finely chop using a large knife.
Combine the fennel mix with the salt, sage, rosemary and garlic.
Place the pork, skin up and using a sharp knife score the skin. Then turn over and make a shallow criss-cross pattern on the surface of the meat.
Sprinkle over all the fennel mix and massage into the meat.
Along the long edge, roll the meat into a long sausage. Place the seam edge on the bottom, and using string slide under the rolled pork and tie at 2-inch intervals to secure the porchetta roll. Gently stab or prick the skin with a sharp knife all over, this will help crispen it later.
Place the porchetta roll onto a rack in a roasting tin so that it's not touching the surface. Pour in around 2-3 cups of water. You can also use white wine if you like. Sprinkle over a little salt.
Roast in the oven for 4 hours. After about 2 hours, top up the water in the pan.
You can also baste the pork a few times after around 2-3 hours.
After 4 hours, crank up the heat to 450ºF/230ºC and keep a keen eye on the pork. Check every 30 seconds or so to ensure the skin is not burning.Tap the skin with a knife to see how crisp it's getting and remove when you're happy with the crispness. You should see blistering and bubbling between 5-10 minutes. I can't stress enough, to keep an eye on the pork as it'll burn quickly!
Cover loosely with foil and rest for 20-30 minutes.
When ready, slice the pork and serve.
Serve on it's own as a sandwich, or as part of a larger Italian feast.

Nutrition Information

Show Details

Calories 1425kcal (71%) Carbohydrates 3g (1%) Protein 26g (52%) Fat 145g (223%) Saturated Fat 53g (265%) Cholesterol 196mg (65%) Sodium 89mg (4%) Potassium 565mg (16%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 1g (2%) Vitamin A 45IU (1%) Vitamin C 2mg (2%) Calcium 56mg (6%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 10Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 1425 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories	1425kcal	71%
Carbohydrates	3g	1%
Protein	26g	52%
Fat	145g	223%
Saturated Fat	53g	265%
Cholesterol	196mg	65%
Sodium	89mg	4%
Potassium	565mg	12%
Fiber	1g	4%
Sugar	1g	2%
Vitamin A	45IU	1%
Vitamin C	2mg	2%
Calcium	56mg	6%
Iron	2mg	11%