Porchetta Recipe: Italian Pork Belly Rolls to Light Up Your Home Party

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Italian-style Pork Belly Barbecue with Porchetta Recipe

This recipe for Italian-style barbecued pork belly is a great way to bake pork in a rolled up dish that resembles a roll cake. It's an eye-catching dish that's sure to impress when served at a home party. In this recipe, we're going to show you an easy way to crisp up the pork belly in the oven so you can enjoy a crispy exterior and moist interior. Let's get started with this crispy exterior porchetta recipe.

What is Porchetta?

Porchetta is a traditional Italian dish in which the belly of a pork belly is seasoned with herbs and garlic, then rolled whole and slow-roasted. It's traditionally cooked in a wood-fired oven or charcoal grill, which produces a crispy crust on the outside and tender, moist meat on the inside. Today, you can easily make it at home in the oven. Porchetta is most often enjoyed at festivals and special occasions, but it can also be sliced and served as a main dish or simply used in sandwiches. For more information on porchetta, check out the Wikipediafor more information.

Recipe: Porchetta

Preparation materials

By measurements: I used 1T=15cc, 1t=5cc measuring spoons.

Belly: about 2 kg
Salt: Moderate
Vinegar: Moderate

Salsa verde ingredients

• Rosemary: 10 g
• Italian parsley: 200 g
• Funnel seed: 1 T
• salt: 2 T
• Coarse black pepper: 2 T
• minced garlic: 3 T
• Crushed Red Pepper: 3 T
• Olive oil: 5 T
• Lime juice: 1 T

Preparation tools

• Oven or air fryer
• Cooking thread
• Blender
• Deep thermometer

Total time spent

• Cook time about 4 hours or less
• 24 hours drying time

Product information used

• Cooking thread: It's used to bind the meat tightly and hold the shape 👉. See products
• Deep thermometer: The probe thermometer allows you to measure the internal temperature of your meat in real time 👉. See products
• Ninja Blender (blender): This is the best blender for the money. It crushes even the hardest ice in a flash and never stops working because it dries up halfway through. It's the best thing since sliced bread and takes the stress out of cooking. 👉 ðŸ See products
• PannelSeed: It has a sweet and refreshing aroma and adds a deep flavor to your dishes 👉. See products

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The creation process

Make salsa verde

In a blender, combine 10 g rosemary, 200 g Italian parsley, 1 T fennel seeds, 2 T salt, 2 T coarse black pepper, 3 T minced garlic, 3 T crushed red pepper, 5 T olive oil, and 1 T lime juice and grind to a fine paste. This green sauce is called salsa verde.

Trimming the pork belly

Wipe the blood off the outside of the duck belly with a kitchen towel. Scrape the skin with a knife to remove any impurities, and burn any hairs with a blowtorch to clean it up. You can also use tweezers to pull them out one by one.

Turn it over and remove the bones. You can remove large chunks of bone by touching it with your hands. Run a knife down the side along half the thickness and open it up like a book, leaving the ends so that the meat stays together as a single chunk. Be careful not to pierce it.

Shaping the Sauceballa

With the skin side down, spread the pork belly evenly with the reserved salsa verde, starting with the skinless side and rolling it up.

Then tie it tightly with culinary thread. Make sure to tie it tightly so it doesn't lose its shape. Salt the rinds and let them dry in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Apply vinegar

After 24 hours, remove the pork belly and brush the skin with a thin layer of vinegar, shaking off any remaining salt. This will make the skin even crispier.

Bake in the oven

Bake in an oven preheated to 140°C (284°F) until the core temperature reaches 75°C (167°F). The time it takes will depend on the power of your oven and the amount of meat, but it should take about 2.5 to 3 hours. If you can't fit an instant-read thermometer in the oven, remove it from the oven every 10 minutes after 2 hours to check the core temperature to finish cooking.

Once the core temperature is checked, increase the oven temperature to 220°C (428°F) and cook for an additional 10 minutes to crisp the skins. Once the skins are evenly browned and crisp, remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes. Remove the cooking threads, cut, and serve.

4 tips for success

• Herbs for salsa verde should be prepared according to the occasion. We recommend rosemary, thyme, sage, and parsley.
• For an authentic Italian flavor, fennel seeds are a must-have. Fennel seeds have a sweet and refreshing flavor that pairs well with pork, and they're great for cutting down on fatty cuts.
• You can use cumin seeds or celery seeds as a substitute for fennel seeds.
• Before refrigeration drying, you can use a fork or a vegetable tenderizer to make small punctures or slits in the skin for a crispier skin.

Storage and precautions

Storage methods

• Refrigerate: Store leftover porchetta in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Freezing: Freezing is a better option: cut leftover porchetta into manageable pieces, wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze in a ziplock bag, removing as much air as possible to avoid freezer burn.

Caveats

Refrigerate: Best consumed within 2-3 days when refrigerated, as the porky odor may intensify during refrigeration.
Freezing: They can be stored frozen for up to 2 months, but once thawed, consume immediately.
How to reheat: The best way to reheat is in the oven. Reheating in an oven preheated to 356℉ (180℃) for about 10-15 minutes will bring back the crispness of the shells. Be careful when reheating in the microwave, as the shells can become mushy.
Remove odors: When reheating, you can add a small amount of herbs (rosemary, thyme) or vinegar to reduce pork odor.

See other recommended dishes

• Burnt Ends Recipes - This is another pork belly barbecue recipe that you can make in the oven.
• A1 Making Steaks Delicious - This is how I make steak sauce, but it also works well with porchetta.

Closing thoughts

Porchetta recipes are perfect for special occasions like festivals. It's easy to make in the oven and a great addition to your home party menu. Impress everyone with its flaky exterior and delicious interior! Have a delicious day with porchetta!