Porchetta (Italian Pork Roast)
Try this Porchetta recipe or the famous Italian Pork Roast. Rubbed with herbs and slowly cooked it’s juicy inside with delicious crispy skin!
SERVINGS: 16
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Ingredients
- 10-11 pounds pork belly , about 5 kg
- 1 pork tenderloin , about between 500-700 grams
For the rub:
- dry white wine
- extra virgin olive oil
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup dried rosemary sprigs
- ½ cup dried sage
- 5 bay leaves
- 3 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds , or more to taste
- 2.5 tablespoon salt , divided (1.5 tablespoon for the meat – 1 tablespoon for the outer skin). Equivalent of 36 grams total or 3 grams for every pound of meat or 6 grams per every kilo.
Instructions
Prepare the meat
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Put all herbs in a food processor and pulse until finely grind.
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Place pork belly skin side down on a work surface. Perform long cuts about ½ inch (1 cm) deep. This will the meat better absorb all the aromatics so as facilitate rolling it into a log. Rub with salt also working it into the cuts.
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Pour wine and extra virgin olive oil. Rub it into the meat.
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Slice garlic cloves and place in-between the cuts in the meat.
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Evenly coat the meat with herbs, saving a little for the pork fillet.
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In the same manner rub pork fillet with wine, oil and herbs and arrange on the pork belly.
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Roll the pork belly tightly into a cylinder.
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Using kitchen twine, tie the roll at 1-inch intervals.
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Let porchetta rest for 2-3 hours at room temperature or in the fridge overnight.
Before roasting
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When ready to roast, preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
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Using a sharp knife poke holes all around the pork rind. Rub it generously with salt.
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Fill baking sheet with water, rosemary (fresh of dry), a few bay leaves and fennel seeds. Place the baking sheet on the lowest rack in the oven. Wrap both ends of porchetta with aluminum foil to prevent from burning. .
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Place porchetta on the wire rack right on top of the baking sheet filled with water
Cooking Phase 3
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Increase the temperature to 355 F (180 C) again and bake for another 30 minutes OR until the temperature at the core of porchetta has reached 160-162 C (71-72 C). I highly recommend using a thermometer inside porchetta and positioning it in the center (core) for the most accurate and most important JUICY porchetta.
Cooking Phase 4
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Once the inside temperature of porchetta has reached 160-162 C (71-72 C), shift the wire rack with porchetta closer to the grill without touching it. Turn up the temperature to 430 F (220 C) and roast for 3-5 minutes checking on porchetta frequently until skin is crispy but pay attention not to burn it.
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Porchetta is ready when it has reached temperature of 165 F (74 C) on the inside. If it goes higher than 170 F (76 C) you risk overcooking it which results in dry meat.
Notes
How to Tie a Pork Roast
- Tie the first double knot then make a wide lasso with the free end of the twine. Let the loop pass under the meat log positioning the twine about 1-inch apart from the first knot. Tie tight and make another lasso with the free end of the twine. Repeat the process until you’ve tied all the pork roast.
- Once you’ve reached the other end, pass the free end of the twine across the pork roast vertically and tight.
- A pair of helping hands are extra useful when tying the roast.
- If you find it’s challenging to use lasso method, you can simply tie each double knot separately keeping the same 1 inch or so distance.
Cooking Time
Cooking time indicated in the recipe is indicated for 12-13 pounds (5.5 kg) of meat.
Here’s how to calculate time if your porchetta is smaller or larger than that.
Consider 20 minutes of cooking time for every pound of meat, or 45 minutes for every kilo.
Use the following formula below to calculate time at each temperature.
Weight in pounds:
- Total weight in pounds x 20 = Total cooking time (besides Phase 4)
- Phase 1 (Cooking at 355 F) = Total time / 8
- Phase 2 (Cooking at 245 F) = Total time x 0.75
- Phase 3 (Cooking at 355 F) = Total time / 8
- Phase 4 – as indicated in the recipe
Weight in kilos:
- Total weight in kilos x 45 = Total cooking time (besides Phase 4)
- Phase 1 (Cooking at 180 C) = Total time / 8
- Phase 2 (Cooking at 120 C) = Total time x 0.75
- Phase 3 (Cooking at 180 C) = Total time / 8
- Phase 4 – as indicated in the recipe
Preparing in Advance
Once porchetta is cooked, let it cool completely at room temperature. When ready to serve, reheat in the oven 160C for 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 1555kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 34gFat: 156gSaturated Fat: 56gPolyunsaturated Fat: 17gMonounsaturated Fat: 74gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 225mgSodium: 763mgPotassium: 705mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.03gVitamin A: 113IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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