Roasted Porchetta Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Using a sharp knife, slice open the butt, following the fat cap, until you are able to roll it flat.
• Make a paste with the olive oil, garlic, fresh herbs, fennel seeds and zest. Take half of the salt and sprinkle the exposed inside of the butt. Do the same with half of the black pepper. Pour the herb paste onto the butt. Spread evenly into the meat. Roll the meat up back onto itself creating a large pinwheel of pork and herbs. Secure the roast together using butchers twine. Sprinkle the outside of the roast with the remaining salt and pepper. Place the butt onto a roasting rack inside of a roasting pan.
• Place the butt into the oven and cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, or until the inside is 140 degrees F. Let cool and slice.

Steps:

• Stir fennel seeds in small skillet over medium-high heat until slightly darker in color and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer seeds to spice mill and cool. Add kosher salt, peppercorns, and dried crushed red pepper. Grind to medium-fine consistency (not powder).
• Place pork in 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Rub garlic all over pork, then coat with spice mixture. Loosely cover pork with waxed paper. Refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush large rimmed baking sheet with oil. Place roast, fat side up and coating intact, in center of sheet. Drizzle evenly with 2 tablespoons oil. Roast pork 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Roast pork until very tender and thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 190°F, about 3 hours 15 minutes longer. Transfer pork to cutting board; reserve baking sheet. Let pork rest 15 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour all pan juices into 2-cup measuring cup. Spoon off fat that rises to top. Place reserved baking sheet across 2 burners. Pour wine and broth onto baking sheet and bring to boil over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits. Boil until wine mixture is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 4 minutes. Add degreased pan juices and whisk to blend. Pour pan sauce into small bowl (sauce will be thin).
• Thinly slice roast. Serve with sauce.

Steps:

• Score skin and fat all over pork, taking care not to cut down to the meat.
• In a food processor or mortar and pestle, combine fennel fronds, rosemary, sage, garlic, lemon zest, salt, fennel seed, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Pour in oil. Pulse or mash until it forms a paste. Rub all over pork. If using a boneless roast, tie with kitchen string at 2-inch intervals. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 6 hours and preferably overnight.
• Remove pork from refrigerator 1 to 2 hours before you want to cook it. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Transfer pork to a rimmed baking sheet and roast 35 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 degrees and cook an additional 2 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 180 degrees, which will give you sliceable, tender meat. (Bone-in roasts will take longer than boneless ones.)
• Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 15 to 30 minutes before serving. Make sure everyone gets some of the cracklings.

Steps:

• Make the brine. Fill a large pot with 1 gallon water. Add the garlic, fennel seeds, juniper berries, peppercorns and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, whisk in the salt and brown sugar and let cool to room temperature.
• Brine the pork. Put the pork belly in a large roasting pan and pour the brine over it. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours.
• Make the rub. Toast the fennel seeds, juniper berries and peppercorns in a medium skillet over medium heat until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Pulse a few times in a spice grinder until coarsely ground. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the nutmeg, thyme and garlic.
• Spice the pork. Remove the pork belly from the brine and pat it dry. Spread the rub on the flesh side of the pork belly, using just what adheres; you may have some rub left over. Put the pork belly skin-side up on a large rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, 24 hours to dry it out.
• Roll the pork. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. (If you have a convection setting, use it; preheat to 450 degrees F.) Flip the pork belly so it's skin-side down. Starting at a long side, roll into a cylinder.
• Secure the roll with kitchen string: Tie separate pieces of string around the roll, about 3/4 inch apart.
• Prick the pork all over with a skewer; this helps render the fat so the skin gets crisp.
• Roast the pork. Put the pork belly on a rack set on a rimmed baking sheet. Tuck 4 upside-down spoons around the pork to keep it from rolling around. Roast 30 minutes, using a baster to baste the pork with the drippings and rotating the pan every 10 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees F (325 degrees F for convection) and continue roasting, rotating the pan every 15 minutes, until the pork registers 155 degrees F on a thermometer, about 1 1/2 more hours.
• Slice the pork. Let the pork rest 30 to 40 minutes, then cut off the string and slice about 3/4 inch thick.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the oil, rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl; mix and set aside.
• Butterfly and open the pork belly like a book so you can roll the pork tenderloin in two rotations.
• Smother the pork belly in some of the spice mixture and set the pork belly aside.
• Smother the pork tenderloin in the spice mixture.
• Place the pork tenderloin at one end of the pork belly and roll until the pork belly ends meet or overlap.
• Tie off the porchetta with baker's twine or pull baker's netting over the porchetta and tie off the ends. Wrap the porchetta in aluminum foil and place on a grill insert inside a deep roasting pan. Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan and cover with foil.
• Roast for 1 hour 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the foil.
• Remove the porchetta from the roasting pan and remove the foil. Place the porchetta on the insert and place back into the oven, uncovered (this will make the pork belly skin crispy). Continue to roast until the pork belly skin has reached the desired crispness, about 1 hour.
• Remove the porchetta to a cutting board. Slice and serve with the Aioli.
• Place the garlic in a food processor and mince finely. Add the turmeric and mix. Add the mayonnaise and mix; do not overmix, as the mayonnaise can separate.

Steps:

• Score the pork belly skin with a sharp knife in a cross pattern. Score down to just before where the skin meets the fat, rather than the fat itself. Bring a large saucepan of water to a simmer and add the bicarbonate of soda. Lower the pork into the water, poach gently for 5 mins, then remove it from the water and leave to cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, toast the fennel seeds and chilli flakes in a dry frying pan over a high heat for 1-2 mins, then tip into a bowl and leave to cool. Grind the spices in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar, then mix with 1 tbsp fine sea salt.
• Once the pork has cooled, turn it skin-side down and pierce the underside of the meat all over with a knife. Rub the meat with the spiced salt rub, cover and put it in the fridge for at least 8 hrs or overnight. Can be prepared 24 hours ahead.
• The next day, make your stuffing. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the onion and fennel. Season and cook gently over a low heat for 10 mins. Add the coriander seeds and garlic, and cook for another 2 mins, then add the mince. Cook for 8-10 mins until the mince is browned. Set aside and leave to cool.
• Transfer the mince and onion mix to a bowl and add the sourdough, pine nuts, orange zest, apricots, herbs, lemon juice and nutmeg. Season well, then mix together thoroughly with your hands. Add the egg and mix again.
• Lie the pork belly on a board, skin-side down. Form the stuffing into a sausage shape running all the way down the middle of the belly. Wrap the sides of the belly around the stuffing and tie with butcher's string. Place seam-side down in a roasting tin, uncovered, and chill for at least 2 hrs, preferably overnight. You want the skin to dry out completely so that it crisps up when you roast it.
• To cook the pork, remove it from the fridge and leave it for at least 1 hr to come to room temperature before you cook it. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4 and cook the pork for about 2 hrs, turning the tin every 30 mins or so. After 2 hrs, turn the heat up to 220C/ 200C fan/gas 7 and cook for another 20 mins. When the pork is done, a thermometer pushed into its centre should read 77C. If the skin looks in danger of burning, cover it with foil - but only do this once it has crackled.
• Once the pork has cooked, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 30 mins. When you're ready to carve, put the pork on a big chopping board. Using a sharp knife, slice the meat into rounds.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F and position rack in the lowest position.
• Toast fennel seeds in a small skillet over high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to cutting board along with garlic, fennel fronds, salt, and pepper and finely chop together. Transfer mixture to a small bowl and stir in oil.
• Lay pork belly on cutting board, skin side down. Holding a large sharp knife parallel to the cutting board, split the belly in half, being careful not to cut all the way through the opposite end. Open the split belly like a book and spread fennel-garlic mixture all over. Place pork loin at the end of the skinless side of the belly, and tightly roll the belly around the loin, forming a roast. The skin should almost wrap the roast completely. Using butchers' string, tightly tie the roast at 1-inch intervals.
• Transfer the porchetta to a large roasting pan and roast for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the pan from the oven and add the potatoes and rosemary. Season with salt and toss the potatoes in the pan juices to coat. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of roast registers 165°F and potatoes are tender, about 2 hours more.
• Let the porcetta rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, combine 2 tablespoons of the oil and potatoes, and season with salt; toss to evenly coat. Spread in an even layer and roast until light golden, 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, garlic, fennel, thyme, rosemary, sage, black pepper and red-pepper flakes, and season to taste with salt; mix well.
• Spoon the herb mixture over the potatoes and toss until evenly coated, using a spatula to lift up the potatoes if necessary. Continue roasting until the potatoes are fragrant, golden brown and tender when pierced with a fork, 10 to 15 minutes longer.
• Transfer potatoes to a serving platter and garnish with parsley. Serve warm.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a small bowl, combine the dill seed, fennel seed, oregano, lemon pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Mix well and apply to the roast. Place roast in a 10x15 inch roasting pan.
• Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until internal pork temperature reaches 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).