PORCHETTA 

Porchetta is a specialty of Tuscany and Umbria, popular at weekend markets, and offered frequently at neighborhood butcher shops. In its epitome, it is a roasted whole pig stuffed with bread and the pig’s offal, replete with garlic, highly salted, scented with the intoxicating wild herbs of Central Italy – wild fennel, rosemary, and sage. Sometimes chili flakes are included. Its flavors have a clear, strong voice and are mouth-wateringly good. The sliced meat is eaten as a sandwich, piled onto thick slices of rustic Tuscan bread, dipped into the pan juices, and brightened with a sharp-edged salsa verde; my dear friend, Dario Cecchini, the butcher of Panzano, brilliantly serves it with his exquisite sweet-hot pepper mostarda, reflecting his predilection for Medieval flavors. 

Our porchetta is a friendlier version to the Tuscan whole-pig one, but with the same flavors. It’s hard to overcook. You want the roast crisp on the outside and tender inside; it can almost fall apart. The skin crates its own cracklings. Uncooked, porchetta will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or can be frozen for up to 2 months. 

Plan ahead: You’ll need 2 hours tempering time before the roast goes in the oven; about 3 ½ hours to roast; and 15 minutes to rest before carving; a total of about 6 hours. For a smaller, skinless loin you’ll reduce the oven time to about 3 hrs. 

To cook: Remove porchetta from its wrappings. Bring the porchetta to room temperature – allow it to sit out for about two hours to come to room temperature. Stand the porchetta on a roasting rack on a roasting pan with the skin side up. Roast in a 425° F oven for 1 ½ hours, until the skin is crisp and browned. You do not need to baste the pork. Lower the oven temperature to 350° F and roast for another 1 ½ to 2 hours, rotating the pan in the oven every 30 minutes or so. The skin will become a layer of wonderfully delicious cracklins. The internal temperature of the pork should be 165° F/74° C. If skin gets too dark lay a piece of foil over the porchetta to shield it.  Allow the porchetta to rest for 15 minutes before carving or serve it cold the next day with Dijon mustard, raisin mustard, or Dario’s Mostarda mediterraneo. 

©2021 Christopher Lee