Porchetta Pork Roast Melissa Clark Recipes

PORCHETTA-STYLE ROAST PORK

Steps:

• Stir fennel seeds in small skillet over medium-high heat until slightly darker in color and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer seeds to spice mill and cool. Add kosher salt, peppercorns, and dried crushed red pepper. Grind to medium-fine consistency (not powder).
• Place pork in 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Rub garlic all over pork, then coat with spice mixture. Loosely cover pork with waxed paper. Refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Brush large rimmed baking sheet with oil. Place roast, fat side up and coating intact, in center of sheet. Drizzle evenly with 2 tablespoons oil. Roast pork 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Roast pork until very tender and thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 190°F, about 3 hours 15 minutes longer. Transfer pork to cutting board; reserve baking sheet. Let pork rest 15 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pour all pan juices into 2-cup measuring cup. Spoon off fat that rises to top. Place reserved baking sheet across 2 burners. Pour wine and broth onto baking sheet and bring to boil over medium-high heat, scraping up any browned bits. Boil until wine mixture is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 4 minutes. Add degreased pan juices and whisk to blend. Pour pan sauce into small bowl (sauce will be thin).
• Thinly slice roast. Serve with sauce.

PORCHETTA PORK CHOPS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pat pork chops dry and, using a very sharp paring knife, cut a large pocket into the fat-covered edge of each chop. Season chops all over with 1 teaspoon salt, including inside pockets.
• Finely grate zest from lemon and put in a small bowl. Cut lemon lengthwise in quarters for serving.
• Using a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a knife, mash garlic with a pinch of salt until you get a paste. Add to the bowl with the lemon zest and stir in rosemary, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, 2 tablespoons fennel fronds and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Divide filling between pork chops, stuffing some inside pockets and rubbing the rest on the outside.
• Heat a large ovenproof skillet over high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sear pork chops on one side for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Gently turn over chops and cook for another minute, then transfer skillet to oven. Cook until meat is just done, about 5 to 10 minutes longer (internal temperature should read 135 degrees on a meat thermometer). Transfer pork chops to a plate, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fennel fronds and lemon wedges.

ROAST MAPLE PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Season the pork loin with 1 tablespoon of salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Chop the garlic and sage together to make a coarse rub for the pork. Rub it into the pork loin. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for a few hours, preferably overnight. Remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes before you're going to cook. (Note: Please allow 8 hours for overnight marinating.)
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Set a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon to the pan, and fry until crisp and fully rendered. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon. Return the pan to the heat.
• Add the orange juice, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and chili powder to the sauté pan with the rendered bacon fat. Simmer the glaze until it thickens and becomes syrupy, about 2-3 minutes. Once the glaze has thickened, drizzle in a tablespoon of olive oil, for added body and glossiness. Set aside.
• Trim, clean, and halve the Brussels sprouts. Spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.
• Peel and cut the butternut squash into quarter-moon shapes, ¼-inch thick. Spread out on a second rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.
• Remove the plastic wrap from the rested pork loin, and discard. Brush the sage/garlic mixture off and place the loin, fat side up, on the third rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle half of the cooled glaze over the pork loin, smearing it in with your hands. Coat the vegetables in the remaining olive oil, scatter a few sprigs of thyme on the trays, and season with salt. Toss with the remaining glaze. Place the trays in the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes.
• Check the vegetables after 10 minutes; remove from the oven once they're golden brown and slightly soft in the middle. Drop the oven's temperature to 375 F and continue roasting the pork loin until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest end reads 140 degrees F, about 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest.
• Spread the roasted vegetables on a large serving platter. Slice half of the pork loin, and arrange on top of the vegetables. Garnish with the cooked bacon and lemon wedges. Serve immediately.

PORCHETTA

Steps:

• Put belly skin side down; arrange loin in center. Roll belly around loin so the short ends of the belly meet. If any of the belly or loin overhangs, trim meat. Unroll; set loin aside.
• Toast fennel seeds and red pepper flakes in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Tip spices into a bowl; let cool. Finely grind spices in a spice mill and transfer to a small bowl, along with the sage, rosemary, and garlic; set fennel mixture aside.
• Assemble porchetta according to steps 1-5.
• Refrigerate roast, uncovered, for 1-2 days to allow skin to air-dry; pat occasionally with paper towels.
• Let porchetta sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 500°F. Season porchetta with salt. Roast on rack in baking sheet, turning once, for 40 minutes. Reduce heat to 300°F and continue roasting, rotating the pan and turning porchetta occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meat registers 145°F, 1 1/2-2 hours more. If skin is not yet deep brown and crisp, increase heat to 500°F and roast for 10 minutes more. Let rest for 30 minutes. Using a serrated knife, slice into 1/2" rounds.
• To assemble:
• 1. Set belly skin side down. Using a knife, score the belly flesh in a checkerboard pattern 1/3" deep so roast will cook evenly.
• 2. Flip belly skin side up. Using a paring knife, poke dozens of 1/8"-deep holes through skin all over belly. Don't be gentle! Keep poking.
• 3. Using the jagged edge of a meat mallet, pound skin all over for 3 minutes to tenderize, which will help make skin crispy when roasted.
• 4. Turn belly and generously salt both it and loin; rub both with fennel mixture. Arrange loin down middle of belly. Top with orange slices.
• 5. Roll belly around loin; tie crosswise with kitchen twine at 1/2" intervals. Trim twine. Transfer roast to a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.

PORCHETTA-STYLE ROAST PORK

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in center. In a food processor, combine garlic, fennel seeds, rosemary, lemon zest, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 3 tablespoons oil; pulse to a paste. Pat pork dry. On a rimmed baking sheet, rub pork all over with garlic mixture and wrap with pancetta, overlapping slightly; secure with twine at 2-inch intervals.
• Toss potatoes, onion, and lemon slices with remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper; scatter around pork. Drizzle with 1/3 cup water; roast, basting with juices, until pancetta is crisp and a thermometer inserted in thickest part of meat registers 138 degrees, 40 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board; tent with foil.
• Return sheet to oven and continue to roast vegetables, tossing once, 10 minutes more. Remove strings from pork and slice. Serve, alongside vegetables, and drizzled with pan juices.

PORCHETTA PORK ROAST

Steps:

• 1. Score skin and fat all over pork, taking care not to cut down to the meat. 2. In a food processor or mortar and pestle, combine fennel fronds, rosemary, sage, garlic, lemon zest, salt, fennel seed, chile flakes and black pepper. Pour in oil. Pulse or mash until it forms a paste. Rub all over pork. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 6 hours and preferably overnight. 3. Remove pork from refrigerator 1 to 2 hours before you want to cook it. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Transfer pork to a rimmed baking sheet and roast 35 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 degrees and cook an additional 3 to 4 hours, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 180 degrees, which will give you sliceable, tender meat. 4. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 15 to 30 minutes before serving. To serve, slice off the bone and make sure everyone has some of the cracklings.