Crispy Porchetta
Crispy pork skins, beautifully moist tender meat, is there anything better than having a porchetta on the table? I'm not sure there is. This is a dish I've made a lot as a chef in various restaurants. It was always popular for a Sunday lunch. So here is how I make restaurant quality porchetta at home.
I'll talk you through the ingredients, prep and key steps so you can cook the best porchetta for your friends and family. Important note: You need to start the prep the day before you want to cook it as the prepared pork needs to sit in the fridge, uncovered for at least 24 hours to dry out. This is so the skin can crisp up nicely and give you perfect crackling when you cook it.
You can also use this recipe and use the leftovers to make my porchetta roll recipe.
What is porchetta?
Porchetta is the Italian pork roast (aka porchetta roast). You have juicy pork filled with a fresh marinade and a crispy crackling on the outside. It's a great dish to make when you have family or friends over for a meal or for your Sunday lunch.
Prep
You need to prep the pork the day before! This allows the skin to dry out properly so it can crispy up nicely when cooked, and it gives the marinade time to penetrate the meat.
Ingredient Notes
Pork Belly:
You want a pork belly with the bone out, skin on and the loin still attached. This will be hard to find off the shelf, I always need to make a special order with my local butcher for this one. So go chat to your butcher about it. Alternatively, you can use a cut without the loin attach and just buy that separately.
Fennel Pollen:
This one is not super common so you can just use crushed up fennel seeds instead
Ingredients
- 1 pork belly, bone out, skin on, with the pork loin still attached (If you can't get one, a pork belly without the loin will also work)
- 4 large sprigs of rosemary
- 12 cloves of garlic
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) of fennel pollen (or toasted fennel seeds)
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) of chilli flakes
- 30g (about 1 oz) of salt
Equipment
-
Chopping board
-
Chef’s knife
-
Boning knife
-
Grater or Microplane
-
Large mixing bowl
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Butcher’s twine
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Oven tray with rack
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Thermometer
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Kitchen blowtorch (optional, for crackling touch-ups)
Directions
MARINADE (DAY BEFORE THE COOK)
PREP THE PORK (DAY BEFORE THE COOK)
THE NEXT DAY
Notes
Chef Tips
Pork belly prep (do this the day before)
Trim the belly so the ends meet cleanly when you roll it up (you don't want any skin folded on the inside). Remove the loin by running a boning knife under it where it meets the fat, keeping the skin and belly intact. Trim the thick fat layer slightly once the loin is off, but don't take it all as it keeps the loin moist during the cook. Score the flesh side of the belly with deep cuts so the marinade can penetrate. Double-check the roll before you put it in the fridge: the two sides should meet with no overhang. WATCH THE VIDEO, as it will give you a visual guide to the prep stage.
Score the skin
Flip the belly over and score the skin diagonally, cuts about 2cm apart.
Loin prep
Butterfly the loin by running your knife down the middle, stopping about 7cm from the bottom, then go in sideways on both sides until you can open it flat. Rub in a quarter of the marinade and roll it back up.
Leave the porchetta uncovered in the fridge for at least 24 hours
The fridge rest is the most important step for crackling. Leaving it uncovered on a rack allows air to circulate around the skin and draw out as much moisture as possible. The drier the skin going into the oven, the better it blisters. Don’t be tempted to wrap it or cover it. Forty-eight hours gives an even better result than twenty-four.
Rotate the porchetta toward the end of the cook
The skin on the underside of the roll sits against the rack and doesn’t get the same direct heat as the top. Rotating it 90 to 180 degrees during the last 20-30 minutes of the high-heat stage helps the crackling crisp up more evenly. If any stubborn spots still won’t puff, a kitchen blowtorch held close fixes them in seconds.
Storage
Carve only what you need and leave the rest of the roll intact: keeping the porchetta whole prevents it from drying out. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat slices in an oven at 180°C for 10-15 minutes. It’s also excellent cold, sliced thin and served in a bread roll.
FAQs
Can I use a pork belly without the loin attached?
What if the crackling doesn’t puff up properly?
Can I prepare the porchetta ahead of cooking?
Nutrition
Nutrition
- Serving Size
- 1 serving
- Calories
- per serving
- 720
- Carbs
- 2 grams
- Protein
- 32 grams
- Fat
- 64 grams
- Saturated Fat
- 23 grams
- Fiber
- 1 grams
- Sugar
- 0 grams
- Sodium
- 2070 milligrams
- Cholesterol
- 115 milligrams
- Potassium
- 520 milligrams
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