Italian porchetta recipe (2024)

FAQs

What cut of meat is porchetta made from? ›

Though you can make porchetta from a single cut of boned pork belly or shoulder, a combination of fatty belly and lean, tender loin – with the skin left on the belly for maximum crisp – offers the best of both worlds. You'll probably need to go to a butcher to make sure you get pieces of the right shape.

In the Upper Midwest porchetta, more often spelled "porketta", was also introduced by Italian immigrants to the iron ranges of Minnesota and Michigan. Porketta remains a popular local dish in towns such as Hibbing, Minnesota, with distributors such as Fraboni Sausage.

Bruschetta is a classic Italian appetizer that can also be served as a side dish with porchetta. Topped with a mixture of tomatoes, garlic, basil, and olive oil, the crispy bread adds a crunchy and fresh element to your meal. The vibrant flavors complement the rich and tender porchetta.

Place fat-side up on a wire rack in a roasting pan. Roast for one hour, until the fat is crisp. Reduce heat down to 325º F (160°C) and cook until the internal temperature reaches 168° F (75°C), about 60 to 80 minutes longer; test in several spots to be sure of your measurement.

The skin wasn't dry enough. Make sure to pat the pork completely dry before rubbing in the salt and oil as excess moisture will stop it from crisping up. It's important to score the skin if you want it really crisp. You'll need a sharp knife for this, or ask your butcher to do it for you.

Porchetta Substitutes:

A full pork loin butterflied and rolled with the same porchetta seasonings is excellent as well and definitely easier to make.

You want to slice the porchetta super thin. Think of it as shaving the pieces from the porchetta roast. Then you need a crusty delicious baguette. Top it with a garlic herb mayo, which I make at home and is as easy as it sounds: mayo, garlic cloves, fresh herbs from the garden.

Both names sound similar, but pancetta (another Italian delight) derives from cured pork belly, whereas porchetta comes from pork roast!

The heat at which you cook pork cracklins can also cause them to become hard. If the temperature is not high enough, the skin won't crack properly, resulting in a rubbery texture. Make sure to cook pork skin in oil that has a smoke point of 400 degrees.

For the crackling on your porchetta, you need to start or finish the cooking process with a blast of high heat.

Why is my Porketta tough? ›

And since overcooking shrinks meat fibers and squeezes our juices, overcooked pork is tough and dry.

One of the best ways to eat porchetta, and what we Romans love in any type of weather, is as a sandwich with no other ingredients than bread and meat: the famous panino con la porchetta… The simpler the better! The bread should be strictly homemade to perfectly absorb the fat and seasoning.

The best pair is a low tannin wine with some acidity. White and red wines from Central Italy are a classic since Porchetta originated there.

Cuts for Traditional Porchetta: Belly and Loin

Traditional porchetta is made by butchering a hog such that the boned out loin is still attached to the boned out belly.

Porchetta: Porchetta is traditionally made from a whole pig, usually deboned, with the skin still attached. The belly and loin are seasoned, rolled, and roasted. * Pulled Pork: Pulled pork is typically made from pork shoulder or pork butt, which is a more fatty and tougher cut compared to the loin used in porchetta.