Porchetta – Italian pork roast
In the original version, the Italians spit roast a whole suckling pig, but this prochetta recipe is more manageable and oven-friendly. And just as tasty.
On Christmas Eve most Danes traditionally eat pork roast – a kind of meat with the main virtues of fat, salt and crunch. Not being particularly fond of these qualities, I decided to try an Italian porchetta instead, and although it is a kind of sacrilege even the most orthodox pork roast fanatics loved it.
The difference between a Danish pork roast and Italian porchetta lies in the seasoning. And in the multiplication of the popular pork crackling that encircle the entire porchetta roll.
Porchetta served as street food at an Italian food fair.
In Italy porchetta is not a Christmas speciality, but a Tuscan kind of street food wrapped in panini and sold from food trucks at markets, fairs and by the seaside. In the original version, the Italians spit roast a whole suckling pig, but that is way out of my oven league. And the manageable, home cooked version is just as tasty.
Ingredients
2-3 kilo pork belly with the skin on
100 g minced pork and veal
1 tbsp pine nuts
4 shallot onions
2 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper
Loads of fresh parsley, sage and rosemary
Preparation
Chop garlic and onion finely
Mix with minced meat, pinenuts, parsley, sage and rosemary.
Score the skin of the pork with a sharp knife at regular intervals.
Rub the meat with salt.
Place the meat with the skin side down and fill with minced meat stuffing.
Roll the meat to make the short end meet, and tie it up nicely with kitchen twine.
Fill the bottom of a baking pan with water.
Place the pork roll in the water and roast at 180 C/ 350 F for 2 hours, turning regularly. The water helps to obtain a nice crunchy crackling.
Transfer the porchetta to a wire rack and increase the temperature for the last 10 minutes, if the skin has not yet turned golden and crispy.
Oh wow – I love porchetta. Looks so delicious! I would love this any time of the year!
You’re not the only one. Porchetta can be slightly addictive.
I love stuffed pork roast, and this recipe sounds delicious!
You should try it. It works fine on the barbecue.
Oh my, well now you have shamed me into it! Bart and I have seen recipes for this lately, in print and on TV. And some very intrepid friends have done the WHOLE animal thing. Bart wants to know when I am going to give it a go. Your recipe looks great, and scaled to the right size for my home kitchen. Thanks for doing the R & D and homework.
Then I’ll look forwards to seeing how your version turns out. And the photos of Bart’s finished plate:)
This looks amazing. I love pork at Christmas and so does my husband. We’re in Tanzania at the moment, so might not be able to get all of the ingredients, but I’m inspired to give it a go.
Hard to imagine, but I’d love to think of my porchetta recipe being cooked up in the heart of Africa.