Rolled Pork Belly Porchetta with Fennel, Garlic and Rosemary
8 ingredients
12 steps
What you need
- 2.5 kg (5 1/2 lb) skin-on pork belly, boneless, in one flat piece
- 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 tbsp coarse sea salt, plus extra for the skin
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method
Restated from the original video
- 1
Toast the fennel seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 min, then crush them coarsely in a mortar.
- 2
Mix the crushed fennel with the garlic, rosemary, chili flakes, black pepper, 2 tbsp of the olive oil and 1 1/2 tbsp of the salt into a rough paste.
- 3
Lay the pork belly skin side down. Score the meat side in a diamond pattern about 1 cm (1/2 in) deep.
- 4
Rub the herb paste into every cut and over the whole meat surface.
- 5
Roll the belly up tightly from one long side so the skin wraps the outside. Tie it with butcher's twine at 2-3 cm (1 in) intervals.
- 6
Pat the skin very dry and set the roll on a rack over a tray. Chill it uncovered for at least 8 h or overnight so the skin dries out.
- 7
Take the roll out of the fridge 1 h before cooking. Heat the oven to 160 °C (325 °F).
- 8
Rub the skin with the remaining olive oil and scatter over the rest of the salt.
- 9
Roast on the rack until the meat is very tender and a thermometer in the centre reads at least 63 °C (145 °F), ideally about 75 °C (170 °F), 3-3 1/2 h. Baste the skin with the drippings once or twice.
- 10
Raise the oven to 230 °C (450 °F) and roast until the skin blisters and turns crisp and deep golden, 20-30 min. Watch it so it does not burn.
- 11
Rest the porchetta for 20-30 min before cutting.
- 12
Snip off the twine and slice into thick rounds with a serrated knife. Serve warm, or cold in crusty rolls.
Imported from cookingwithnonna.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.