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, it might 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 description in my Spanish-style stuffed pork tenderloin which 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 my delicious 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 gives a 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 takes on 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 if there 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 the Circulon 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.
Porchetta
Ingredients
- 2 lb pork belly 900g, 1 slab, approx
- 1 pork tenderloin around 1-2lb/450-900g
- 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
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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Jeanette Petersen
Is it possible to use a pork belly with skin on? What do you suggest serving with this?
Caroline's Cooking
The main thing with skin-on pork belly is that the skin often becomes pretty tough to eat so you will often end up discarding it, but the skin stops the fat underneath crisping (since the skin does instead) so you don't get the nice crispy crackling. Also, as a minimum, you'll want to score the skin well to allow some fat to drain as it cooks. Overall, if you get skin-on I'd still tend to recommend you remove the skin and just have a layer of fat on the outside to crisp up instead, but you can do as you prefer.
Porchetta works well with some roast potatoes and greens such as wilted leafy greens, or eg beans or broccoli. It also works really well in a sandwich with some peppery arugula and Italian-style salsa verde as a sauce.
John W
I made this for Christmas and it was amazing.
Caroline's Cooking
So glad to hear you enjoyed, I can imagine it works wonderfully for Christmas!
Julia
Mine is in the oven right now. I can’t wait!!
Julia
That was...AMAZING!
Caroline's Cooking
So glad to hear you enjoyed it! It has such fantastic flavor, I might need to make it again soon myself!
Christine
Thank you Caroline, for this wonderful recipe, which we cooked for our Christmas lunch - very easy, looked amazing and tasted fantastic - a real treat! Christine in London
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks for your comment Christine, so glad you enjoyed it. I can imagine it being a wonderful Christmas main.
Lara
How have l not had this before?! It looks delish!!!
Caroline's Cooking
I think that needs to change! Thanks Lara.
Charlene Cockcroft
What could be substituted for fennel?
I do not think my family would like the flavor.
Caroline's Cooking
Fennel is definitely a core part of the flavor and not sure you can really substitute. You'd be better to just omit it if you think the flavor wouldn't be something people would like.
Scotty Scott
I’m making my first one Sunday for Mother’s Day and company. I looked up substitutes for fennel as my wife doesn’t like the flavor. I’m going to use 1/2 cumin and celery seed. I’m sure it will be delicious!
Caroline's Cooking
That seems a reasonable substitute - I'd maybe just do the celery seed personally to be closest flavor-wise and best 'fit'. Hope you all enjoy!
Amy Nash
This sounds absolutely wonderful and I could see this being served as the "roast beast" for a holiday feast!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Amy, indeed it would be fantastic for a Holiday feast (or any, really!)
Healthyhomemaker.com
Can you please clarify.. first you say you used pork loin to avoid butchering, then the ingredient list says tenderloin a different cut.. then the directions say loin. Is it
the tenderloin or pork loin a very different piece of pork.
Caroline's Cooking
Apologies for the confusion - it's the tenderloin I have used. The tenderloin comes from the loin and it is possible to make this with loin as well, you would just have a larger central area and the belly would not go the whole way round. Personally I prefer using the tenderloin as I think these cuts together are more moist and flavorful, but point taken on the confusion and I have updated to be clearer. Thanks for noticing and pointing out - I hope you go on to make this and enjoy.
Jennifer Stewart
I am interested in what meat delivery you use... It's hard to find good meats where I am (small town) and if I could get a delivery service it would be totally worth it! I love that you incorporated pork belly in the recipe. I am not usually a bug fan of it because everywhere I have had it, it is under cooked and squishy! I would love it crispy. I like the richness of the taste of fat but I certainly don't like biting into it. Thanks for linking up with Saucy Saturdays! I have a pork loin in my freezer that is begging me to use it in the recipe:)
Caroline's Cooking
We use a relatively local company, Walden Local Meats - I'm not sure where you are whether they would be in your area, but hopefully there is an equivalent, as I do find it really helps both to get consistently good-quality meat and also cuts I might not otherwise get much to try. And to me, pork bely has to be crispy, it's definitely worth trying!
swayam
That looks lovely and sounds brilliant.. !! Now I have to go and get me some porchetta 😉
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, Swayam, it's a great dish!
Christine
This is exquisite. I love pork so so much. Thanks for joining the fun at #saucysaturdays.
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, Christine, pork can be great, especially dishes like this.
NancyC
This looks so delicious! Great to make for a special meal!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, Nancy!
Sarah
I love porchetta, and yours looks divine! Can't wait to give it a try 🙂
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, Sarah, it is so tasty!
Julie is Hostess At Heart
Oh heavens this looks just gorgeous! You've done an amazing job. I would just love to turn out something like this for guests or just sit at your table with a slice!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, Julie, if I make it again any time soon I'll let you know 🙂
Dini @ The Flavor Bender
That looks SO GOOD!! I love that you kept the flavours simple, but that crust on it looks just phenomenal!! Honestly! I'll have to make that soon and make some sandwiches too 🙂
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, Dini. It is really tasty, and the crust....yum!
Kaila (GF Life 24/7)
I love the herb combination that you added to this dish. Although, I've never had pork belly before, the flavor profile sounds delicious. Happy FF, and have a wonderful weekend. 😀
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, Kaila, the herbs are really great. It's a great introduction to pork belly too! Happy FF to you too, hope you had a good weekend.