{"id":7564,"date":"2020-02-14T09:00:38","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T16:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villasentieri.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=7564"},"modified":"2026-09-02T10:58:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:58:38","slug":"porchetta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villasentieri.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/14\/porchetta\/","title":{"rendered":"Porchetta: A Festive Pork Roast from Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

February 14, 2020<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Porchetta is roast pork, but it\u2019s no ordinary roast pork.\u00a0 In its most traditional form, it is made from a whole pig, well-seasoned, and slowly roasted.<\/p>\n

Porchetta can be found throughout Italy at festivals and street fairs, such as the one in Bagni di Lucca that I attended this past August.<\/p>\n

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Porchetta, made from a whole pig, at a festival in Bagni di Lucca.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Though there is some debate, Porchetta probably originated in Lazio in Central Italy.\u00a0 Lazio is the region where Rome is located.<\/p>\n

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Seasonings vary with the region and often include some combination of garlic, rosemary, fennel, and black pepper.\u00a0 Some regional variations include chopped entrails or liver in the mix.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most unusual version of Porchetta that I\u2019ve encountered is made at the Italian Culinary Institute in Stalett\u00ec, Calabria.\u00a0 It is seasoned with salt and a large amount of truffle puree!<\/p>\n

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Chef Juan and Chef Chris about to carve a truffle-laden porchetta at the Italian Culinary Institute.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of us are not going to roast an entire pig which raises the question of what cut or cuts to use.\u00a0 This is especially important as much of the mouth-feel of porchetta derives from the combination of fatty and lean meat inherent in using an entire pig.<\/p>\n

One solution, that makes for an elegant presentation, is to roll a slab of pork belly around a lean pork loin and tie it.\u00a0 This strategy allows one to cut neat slices that contain both lean and fatty meat.<\/p>\n

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Another solution is to use a cut of meat that inherently contains about 20% fat.\u00a0 A pork shoulder fits the bill nicely.\u00a0 The bone must be removed and the thickest parts of the meat butterflied before being seasoned and tied.\u00a0 This cut of meat doesn\u2019t create consistent slices as does the pork-belly-wrapped-around-a-pork-loin method.\u00a0 It does, however, create supremely succulent meat, more so that the pork loin that\u2019s encased in the pork belly.<\/p>\n

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A porchetta vendor in Rome. (Photo by Alessandro Pinna – Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=34665585)<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I lean towards the \u201cpulled pork\u201d version of porchetta, so slices aren\u2019t really important to me.\u00a0 I always opt for the boneless shoulder method and pull the cooked meat apart in large chunks.\u00a0 Given the chance, though, I\u2019d like to try a whole pig.

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Porchetta<\/h2>\n
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The seasonings in this version of Porchetta closely adhere to what is used in central Italy. Be sure to spread the seasoning very evenly on the meat before rolling and tying.<\/div>\n
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Prep Time <\/span>1 hour<\/span><\/span> hr<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Cook Time <\/span>10 hours<\/span><\/span> hrs<\/span><\/span><\/div>
Total Time <\/span>11 hours<\/span><\/span> hrs<\/span> 2 minutes<\/span><\/span> mins<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n
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Servings: <\/span>20<\/span> persons<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ingredients
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