RoastItalian
Porchetta
A pork belly wrapped around a loin, herbs in the seam, crackling on the outside. A roast, not a braise.
Made it?
4 hr · 40 min hands-on · pull 140°F · rest 20 min
Ingredients
3 lb on the fire · ~2.1 lb to the table · 4 plates at 8 oz
- skin-on pork belly3 lb
- pork loin3 lb
- garlic cloves8
- chopped rosemary3 tbsp
- fennel seed2 tbsp
- kosher salt2 tbsp
Method
- 1
Score the skin. Herb, garlic, fennel, salt on the meat side. Roll around the loin, tie every 2 inches.
- 2
Salt the skin. 325°F until the loin is 138–140°F, about 3 hours. If the skin is pale, 450°F 15 minutes at the end.
- 3
Rest 20. Slice thick. The skin should shatter. If it is rubber, it never dried — next time overnight uncovered in the fridge.
If you don’t have it
- pork belly → pork loin. Keep the same pull. Leaner cooks faster and dries sooner.
- skin-on pork belly → What you actually have, if it is the same muscle family. Belly-only porchetta (no loin) is fattier and more forgiving. Same herbs, pull when the skin is right.
Same cook, different day
Weeknight
Less time. Same seasoning, hotter fire, watch the probe. Do not skip the rest.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making roasted carrots.
Same oven as a roast. Last 30 minutes. Whole thin carrots or big ones halved. Oil, salt, thyme, 425°F, honey in the last 5.
35 min
- With this dish, try making roasted fingerlings.
Same oven as a chicken or a lamb rack. Halved lengthwise, oil, salt, 425°F cut-side down.
35 min
- With this dish, try making mashed potatoes.
Start when the roast has 30 minutes left, or while a steak rests. Russets, salted water, drain hard. Rice or mash. Butter first, then warm cream. Do not put them on the fire — they want a pot.
35 min