Italian East Coast Porkette Recipes

ITALIAN PORCHETTA

Steps:

• Using paper towels, wipe the pork belly to get it as dry as possible. Wrap the entire belly in towels and leave for an hour to soak up more moisture.
• Preheat oven to 200ºF/150ºC
• In a dry frying pan, roast the fennel seeds and peppercorns until they start to jump around the pan a little. Pour into a pestle & mortar or spice grinder and grind into a rough powder, like breadcrumbs. You can also finely chop using a large knife.
• Combine the fennel mix with the salt, sage, rosemary and garlic.
• Place the pork, skin down on a work surface and, using a sharp knife, make a shallow criss-cross pattern on the surface of the meat.
• Sprinkle over all the fennel mix and massage into the meat.
• Along the long edge, roll the meat into a long sausage. Place the seam edge on the bottom, and using string slide under the rolled pork and tie at 2-inch intervals to secure the porchetta roll. Gently stab or prick the skin with a sharp knife all over, this will help crispen it later.
• Place the porchetta roll onto a rack in a roasting tin so that it's not touching the surface. Pour in around 2-3 cups of water. You can also use white wine if you like. Sprinkle over a little salt.
• Roast in the oven for 4 hours. After about 2 hours, top up the water in the pan.
• You can also baste the pork a few times after around 2-3 hours.
• After 4 hours, crank up the heat to 450ºF/230ºC and keep a keen eye on the pork. Check every 30 seconds or so to ensure the skin is not burning.Tap the skin with a knife to see how crisp it's getting and remove when you're happy with the crispness. You should see blistering and bubbling between 5-10 minutes. I can't stress enough, to keep an eye on the pork as it'll burn quickly!
• Cover loosely with foil and rest for 20-30 minutes.
• When ready, slice the pork and serve.
• Serve on it's own as a sandwich, or as part of a larger Italian feast.

PORCHETTA ITALIANA

Steps:

• Oil the shoulder roast inside and out and rub the salt and pepper into the flesh. Rub the garlic, rosemary and dillweed into the flesh. Put shoulder into a leakproof and container and pour the wine in and around the shoulder. Cover tightly and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 3 days.
• Remove the meat from the refrigerator and tie it at about 1 inch intervals to form an even roll. Bring the meat to room temperature for about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Paint the roast with browning sauce and bake the roast until it has internal temperature of 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Estimate 30 minutes cooking time per pound. Remove from oven, tent with foil and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

PORKETTA ROAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a small bowl, combine the dill seed, fennel seed, oregano, lemon pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Mix well and apply to the roast. Place roast in a 10x15 inch roasting pan.
• Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until internal pork temperature reaches 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

ITALIAN PORKETTA

Steps:

• Combine seasonings together and coast roast with mixture.
• Roast in shallow pan at 325 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until meat therometer reads 155 degrees.
• Let roast rest 5 to 10 minutes before carving.

ITALIAN EAST COAST PORKETTE

Steps:

• 1. First wash roast in cold water and pat dry. Use a sharp knife and cut several slits in the roast, deep enough to fit the garlic into.I usually make 5 holes for the garlic and 5 holes for the parsley. After you make the slits in the meat, stuff one of the half garlic cloves into each slot, then take the parsley and stuff into the hole with the garlic. Turn roast over and do the same to the other side. Pour vinegar over the roast, making sure it goes into the holes.Use fresh Rosemary sprigs as a base for the roast. Make sure the roast is fat side up, now rub with salt and pepper to taste. Add about one cup of water to the roasting pan over with foil and bake for 2 1/2 hours. Cool in pan for at least 1 hour. Transfer to cutting board. Cool pan juices and remove fat,strain out herbs.Slice roast thinly and return to juices simmer on med heat , serve on crusty rolls with au jus.

ITALIAN PORCHETTA SANDWICH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• For the herb rub: Add the garlic, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the oregano, rosemary and thyme and pulse into a rustic paste. Season with salt. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the rub for the mayonnaise spread.
• For the pork: Lay the pork belly on a cutting board, skin-side-up, and score the skin at 1-inch intervals, 1/2-inch deep with a sharp knife. Rotate the pork 90 degrees and score the skin again, to create a diamond pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt; be sure to get into all the crevices. Flip the pork over, sprinkle generously with salt, then rub the meat side with the herb rub. Roll the pork belly up as tightly as possible and tie it crosswise with butcher's twine at 2-inch intervals.
• Place the pork in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Pour 1/2 cup water into the bottom of the pan. Roast the pork to an internal temperature of 150 degrees F, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Check periodically to ensure there is still some liquid in the bottom of the pan and add a little water to prevent scorching. Baste the pork belly with pan drippings a couple of times during cooking.
• Once the pork reaches 150 degrees F, raise the oven to 475 degrees F and continue roasting until the skin is super crispy, 30 to 40 minutes. For even browning, flip the pork halfway through the second roasting period.
• Transfer the porchetta to a cutting board and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the rack from the roasting pan and pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the pan drippings. Set the roasting pan on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• For the mayonnaise spread: Mix together the mayonnaise, capers, parsley, lemon zest and juice and the reserved herb rub. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cut the porchetta into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• To assemble the sandwich: Slather both halves of a ciabatta roll with mayonnaise spread. Layer the bottom half with slices of porchetta and top with caramelized onions and arugula.

PORCHETTA - ITALIAN MARKETPLACE SLOW ROAST PULLED PORK SANDWICH

Steps:

• Lay the pork on a large chopping board and cover with cling film. With a rolling pin, mallet, or other suitable blunt object, pound the meat as close to an even 1" thickness that you can manage.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium high. Add all of the chopped onion, half the minced garlic, half the fennel seeds, all of the rosemary and bay, half of the ground cloves, salt and pepper, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until all the fragrance has been released from the herbs and spices. Transfer to a plate to cool.
• Spread and rub this mixture over and into the pork, then roll the meat up as tightly and neatly as you can. Tie with kitchen string at intervals.
• Mix the remaining ingredients (minced garlic, fennel seeds, ground cloves, olive oil) and rub it over the outside of the pork. Cover it with cling film and refrigerate 24 hours, or at least overnight.
• Remove the meat 40 minutes before cooking to allow it to return to room temperature. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150C/300F Take the cling film off the pork and place the pork joint in to a roasting tin.
• Cook the pork for 4 hours to 5 hours, until it is falling apart when you test it with a knife or fork. If the spices on the surface start to char too badly (a little blackness is a good thing), tent foil loosely over the roast. (I find I need to cover it for the last hour of cooking.).
• CROCK POT - at this stage, cook the pork in a crock pot for 4 to 5 hours on high, or on automatic for up to 8 hours.
• Remove from the oven and leave to rest at least 30 minutes to one hour. Slice, pull or shred the meat and serve in warmed ciabatta rolls.