Italian · Main · Hard
Porchetta
Herb rolled pork belly with shatteringly crisp skin, fennel, garlic, and rosemary. The king of Italian roasts.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Porchetta, in 5 ideas
- Drying the skin overnight is what makes it crackle.
- Score the skin deeply but do not cut into the meat.
- Tie it snugly so the roll holds together while roasting.
- Watch closely during the final high heat blast, skin goes from crisp to burnt fast.
- Serve on crusty rolls with the pan juices for porchetta sandwiches.
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 pork belly (about 5 lbs), skin on
- 2 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fennel seeds, toasted and crushed
- 2 tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Kitchen twine
How to make it
Directions
- Score the pork skin in a crosshatch pattern, cutting just through the skin.
- Rub the salt all over, especially into the skin, and refrigerate uncovered overnight to dry the skin.
- Mix the garlic, fennel, rosemary, sage, lemon zest, pepper, and olive oil into a paste.
- Rub the herb paste over the meat side of the belly.
- Roll the belly up tightly from a long edge and tie with kitchen twine every 2 inches.
- Let it come to room temperature 1 hour before roasting.
- Roast at 325 F for 2 1/2 hours, then raise to 450 F for 30 minutes to crisp the skin.
- Rest 20 minutes before removing twine and slicing thick.
Ask the butcher for a pork belly with even thickness so it rolls and cooks uniformly.