Porchetta – an Italian classic

Perfect for enjoying over the Christmas break

Porchetta – an Italian classic and perfect for enjoying over the Christmas break.

PREP TIME: 10 mins + one overnight in the fridge
COOKING TIME: 3 – 4 hrs slow cooking
DIFFICULTY: easy
IDEAL FOR: one-pot meal, family, crowd-pleaser, picnics
BUDGET: £

WINE MATCH: Suzie (Michael Sutton’s Cellar) has a white and red suggestion for the porchetta. If you’re feeling like a crisp Italian white, then try the Lenotti (approx. £12) with floral & fruity aromas that will match well with the herbs in the porchetta.

Fancy a red, check out the Chianti Classico Retromarcia with its ripe succulent cherry flavours.

Christmas ham or porchetta?

I’d do both if you have a big crowd coming over for the Christmas break.

However, if you fancy something a little different, then porchetta is great for friends and family to enjoy.

You can have it hot or cold but I’d recommend cooking it and leaving it to cool.

Then have some fresh buns in the house and people can slice a piece of porchetta and have it in a bun.

It’s the perfect food to have for everyone to help themselves during the break when you’re focussing on the main event.

Or for a Boxing Day easy meal.

Do I have to learn how to butcher and tie it up

The short answer is, no.

You can go to a good butcher (or find a good one online) to buy one already trimmed and tied up with the delicious filings.

Or you can buy it unfilled and do that part yourself.

I gave it a go and the trickiest part is the tying but I’ve added a link (below) to show you how if you’re keen to do it all yourself…

It’s quite fun and once you’ve done it, you leave it to cook so very hands-off from then on in.

Porchetta (pronounced por- ketta) – what is it?

It’s an Italian roast pork dish and literally means ‘little pig’.

In Italy, it’s meant to be a whole roasted suckling pig, cooked over a fire pit until beautifully tender.

But now, it usually refers to the pork belly and loin.

Traditionally, it’s flavoured with loads of fennel, rosemary and some chilli flakes.

Porchetta – an Italian classic but where does it originate?

It originated in the central region of Umbria which grows plenty of fennel, hence the stuffing flavours.

But can be found all throughout Italy, especially Lazio… which grows rosemary really well.

You can see the pattern here.

The porchetta cut

The cut used for porchetta is the belly with the ribs removed and attached to the loin.

It’s not a cut you’ll often find in the butchers but they will sort it for you if you ask.

Otherwise, lots of recipes use the rectangle boneless pork belly.

Or, if you want to go for it, buy the pork belly and a pork loin (which you roll up into the pork belly)

Fennel pollen vs fennel seeds

I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of fennel pollen.

But I’ve always been a huge fan of fennel seeds and pork together.

But there is a difference.

So it’s good to know what’s what, as you may see fennel pollen mentioned in varying porchetta recipes.

The fennel plant

And the mighty liquorice-flavoured fennel plant is one of a handful of plants that produce both a herb and a spice.

What sets fennel pollen apart; fennel pollen…

• are the tiny dry heads of the wild fennel flower.
• have a sweeter, more intense taste so you only need a small amount of fennel pollen compared to fennel seeds.
• is one of the world’s most expensive spices because it’s labour-intensive to harvest – a bit like saffron.

If you don’t have fennel pollen (/it’s expensive), you can toast fennel seeds lightly, then grind them to a powder (sift the bigger bits out of you want) and use them as a substitute.

(Want more info on other spices? Check out my essential guide to spices & pairing with food, here)

Prepping porchetta the day before

You need to prep the cut the evening before.

But don’t worry, it’s not a lot of work but I thought I’d break down the basics of what’s involved.

First, and as always, bring the pork to room temperature.

Tip 1 – prep the cut

• Prep the cut – you may need to butterfly the pork a little more if you have a belly and loin attached.
• Or, trim the loin (if it’s a separate cut) to fit on the belly – just place it on top of the belly flesh, widthways, and check it will roll up together nicely, otherwise, trim the loin so it does.
• With the pork belly, skin facing down, pat the belly flesh dry and lightly score 2 cm diagonal cuts so you can rub the stuffing paste into it for maximum flavour.

Tip 2 – prep the stuffing paste

• Does your recipe ask for fennel pollen? Don’t worry – just do as I’ve suggested above – toast and grind fennel seeds.
• Make the stuffing paste as per the recipe and massage it into the belly flesh.

Tip 3 – roll, tie & leave overnight

• Learn how to do a butcher’s knot – check out ‘Learn how to tie up a porchetta with gennaro contaldo‘
• Roll up the pork (with the stuffing paste massaged in) tightly and tie.
• Pop in the fridge, uncovered, overnight.

Cooking weight and timings

You can’t make good porchetta with a small cut.

So you need to think, bigger is better.

And don’t worry, porchetta is even better the next day cold.

Slice it up and have it in a fresh roll – delicious!

Based on the oven at 160°C

• 2 hours 45 minutes (1.5kg)
• 3 hours, 45 minutes (2.5kg)
• 5 hours, 45 minutes (3.5kg)

For the perfect crackling uncover the porchetta 10 minutes before the finish and turn up the heat of the oven.

And don’t forget… rest your pork for 20 mins before carving.

What’s your favourite pork stuffing? Leave me a comment.