Porchetta No.1
This could have been considered more of a traditional dish over an experimentation but the recipe I used was not definitive in tradition and absolutely made me realise that this is fundamentally a lifelong pursuit as per the best combination of herbs, species and meat selection (to mimic a late Colonel). I will perfect it.
On that note, and as I always do, I researched close to 10 recipes, video and written trying to understand the core components and requirements of making a decent porchetta. Recipes date back as far as potentially 3000 years with a town south of Rome called Ariccia today claiming ownership to the origins of porchetta.
So with all that said the below is what I came up with. First of all, some notes for improvement in No.2:
Toasting the dry elements like the chilli flakes and fennel seeds should be a given, but I think I forgot and this would have helped a great deal as well as running them through a spice grinder or crushing in a mortar and pestle.
The garlic (in particular), sage and rosemary might have had improved flavour with a thorough mincing - so not by hand but maybe with a little oil or water in a blender. This might have helped it penetrate the meat better, but also allow it to cook better stripping away its bitterness. Otherwise dried, powdered garlic, rosemary and sage might again have been more effective in flavouring removing again the bitterness with using fresh.
Remove the membrane from the pork belly (here’s a wonderfully helpful clip from the BBQ Pit Boys that is 15 years old on YouTube, madness). I did not remove for all of the membrane and subsequently there were at times bites a little chewier than others, which can be very unpleasant.
I think I will try the below ingredients again, a little longer cooking time, but using dried ground herbs and spices to mimic in some cases what are considered the better versions of porchetta in Italy. In saying this, you could precook the spice mixture specifically the garlic, rosemary and sage, again helping to balance and plateau its otherwise punchy notes.
ingredients
1.8-2kg piece fresh pork belly with loin
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1/2 tablespoon crushed chilli flakes
20 minced fresh sage leaves
2 sprigs minced fresh rosemary
5 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
Orange zest
method
Chop garlic, rosemary and sage together as fine as possible. Add chilli flakes and fennel seeds and continue mincing, pressing down with the the flat edge of your knife until paste like.
Add herb and spice mixture to a bowl and mix with the extra virgin olive oil. Grate zest of one orange into the bowl and mix thoroughly.
Lay the pork belly skin down and score the meat with a sharp knife 1/2 an inch deep diagonally multiple times.
Add salt and ground black pepper to the meat then the spice mixture and massage to ensure adhesion and penetration.
Role long side over tightly then tie butcher string at equal spacing across the pork belly ensuring no gaps in the roll so moisture stays in.
Score the outside skin as deep as possible in random places to allow some pressure/tension to be released in cooking.
Chill (preferably) overnight uncovered in the fridge to allow drying of the sking.
Preheat your oven to its hottest setting and once piping put the porchetta in on a tray rack dropping the temperature to 200 degrees celsius immediately.
Cooking for 1 1/2 hours or until 70 degrees celsius in the centre. Feel free to leave it in longer for extra crispiness on the skin.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest for up to 1 hour, if not longer, it can be served at room temperature or chilled. Slice thicker for dinner portioning or as thin as possible for a fantastic panino.
