Porchetta - Dozer's last recipe
Recipe video above. The perfect Porchetta in my world has blistered, shatteringly crispy skin ALL over - the top, sides and even the underside - with insanely juicy meat. See video for proof of both!The longer the pork is refrigerated, the better the guarantee for perfectly bubbly, crispy crackling all over - top AND sides. 24 hours is the minimum I recommend, but 48 hours is better and safer, plus gives the Porchetta seasoning time to work its way through the meat. This is the last recipe developed under Dozer's watchful eye, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. It was a big one - but he was at my feet, cheering me on every step of the way. ❤️
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2.5 kg / 5lb pork belly with skin on , NOT SCORED (Note 1)
Rub:
- 2 tbsp fennel seeds (Note 1)
- 2 tsp black peppercorns (Note 1)
- 2 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for salt flakes)
- 3 tbsp finely chopped rosemary leaves - about 1/4 cup leaves (Note 3 for dried)
- 2 tsp red chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)
- 6 large garlic cloves , finely grated with a microplane or garlic crusher
For skin:
- 2 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for salt flakes)
- 2 tbsp olive oil , divided
Gravy:
- 3 tbsp pork belly fat (reserved from roasting)
- 1/4 cup plain flour / all-purpose flour
- 2 cups water
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Salt , if needed (I usually don't need)
Instructions
ABBREVIATED
- Score pork, rub, roll, tie, fridge dry on rack 24 - 48 hours. Oil and salt skin, slow roast 110°C /215°F for 3 1/2 hours, transfer to new rack, drizzle with oil, crackle at 240°C//465°F for 30 - 40 minutes. Make gravy using tray drippings.
FULL DIRECTIONS
Marinate 1 - 2 days
- Toast spices - Preheat a small pan over medium heat (no oil). Toast fennel seeds and black peppercorns, tossing regularly, for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until the fennel seeds are lightly browned.
- Porchetta rub - Crush fennel and peppercorns into a coarse powder using a montage and pestle, or spice grinder. Add remaining Rub ingredients and mix with a spoon - it will be like a thick wet paste.
- Trim excess meat - Pat the pork skin dry with paper towels. Cut off about ~3cm / 2.2" meat along one long edge (leave the skin) so the pork rolls neatly. Do a mock roll-up to see how much to cut off - it's ideal if the skin fully encloses the meat, but usually this isn't possible. (Note 4 for tips). Reserve the trimmed meat - we be rolling it up insi
- Score 3cm / 1.2" diamonds into the flesh, taking care not to cut through the meat (~1 cm/0.4" deep).
- Rub - Use your hands to spread the Rub into the flesh side, being sure to get into the cuts you made. Also rub the extra piece of pork you trimmed off.
- Tie - Place the trimmed piece of pork in the middle. Roll firmly then tie at 2.5cm/1" intervals, starting at the centre then the ends, then working in towards. I do 8 equidistant ties on the skin (26cm / 10.5" log, one end has meat oozing out so can’t be tied).
- Fridge 1 - 2 days - Place on a rack on a tray and refrigerate uncovered for 48 hours (24 hours is ok) to let the rub infuse the flesh and the skin dry so it crackles really well. 12 hours is my bare minimum!
Slow roast:
- Preheat oven to 110°C /215°F (both standard and fan-forced) with the shelf in the middle. (Note 5)
- Oil and salt skin - Remove the rack from under the pork and wipe the tray clean. Working on the tray, rub the pork skin with 1 tablespoon of the oil, then sprinkle and rub the salt in. Salt will catch on the ties - try to spread it out evenly all over the skin, and roll the pork on the salt that falls on the tray.
- Slow roast - Put the pork on the rack again on a clean tray. Slow roast for 3 1/2 hours. The flesh should be pretty tender (use 2 forks to check ends) but not “fall apart” (not our goal). The skin should still be soft - this is what we want at this stage.
- Oil and increase heat - Remove the pork from the oven and turn it up to 240°C/465°F. Working quickly, transfer the pork still on the rack to a clean tray. (Keep the used tray for gravy drippings). Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil (don’t rub with fingers) then put it back in the oven - you want it in there as it is heating up.
- Crackle skin - Roast for 30 to 40 minutes, rotating at the 15 - 20 minute mark, until the skin is all puffy and crispy all over (top and sides).
- Rest and carve - Remove from the oven and leave it for at least 30 minutes (up to 1 1/2 hours) before cutting the strings and slicing with a serrated knife. Serve with gravy!
Gravy:
- Reserve fat - Pour all the fat off the slow-roasting tray from step 4 into a jug (don’t scrape, just pour).
- Deglaze tray - Pour 1/2 cup of water onto the tray set on a stove on medium. When the water starts simmering, use a rubber spatula to loosen all the bits stuck on the tray. (If you have an induction stove, use boiling water - that should be enough to delegate, or if needed, pop the tray in the oven).
- Make gravy - Measure out 3 tablespoons fat (from step 1) and put into a large saucepan. Heat on medium high, then add flour and stir for 1 minute. Whisk in water from deglazing tray, remains water and pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes or until it thickens. Taste, add salt if needed (I don’t). Serve with pork.
Notes
Serving size per person - Allow 300g / 10oz of raw pork belly per serving, which reduces to around 230g / 7.5oz once cooked. So a 2.5kg / 5lb raw pork belly will serve 8 people comfortably, 7 generously. Recipe makes more gravy than you need, the drippings are salty so if you make less, I found it was too salty. Use leftovers to douse your next dinner plate (schnitzel is what I used mine for).
1. Pork belly - The best is one that is even thickness that has not been vac packed (ie drier skin that is flat, not wrinkled). Reality is they are almost always vac packed, so pat the skin dry. See diagram in post for pork belly dimensions and rolling direction. For pork belly smaller than 2kg / 4lb, scale the rub recipe down (tap/click servings and slide down). I've made this with pork belly as small as 800g / 1.6lb and it worked brilliantly, the only change I made was to reduce the slow roasting time down to 3 hours.
2. Fennel and black peppercorns - You will get far better flavour by toasting and grinding the seeds yourself, though if you really have no alternative, you can use powder (1 1/2 tsp fennel powder and 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, and yes, I tried it both ways :) )
3. Rosemary - Really try to use fresh rosemary here as the flavour is so much better than dried. However, if dried is all you've got, use 1 1/2 tbsp.
4. Pork belly - if you don't trim, the meat will bulge out of the seam making it difficult to roll. Determine how much meat to trim by doing a mock roll (see diagram in post). The trimmed meat is rolled up inside - this fills out the roll nicely so the centre is not hollow.
5. Oven temp - fan-forced ovens are usually set 20C lower than standard ovens as the heat is stronger. However, for low-temperature slow-roasting, use the same temperature for both, as the difference between oven types is negligible at lower heats.
6. Gravy tips - Pass through sieve to remove lumps, if needed. Gravy should be a lovely brown colour from the browned drippings on the tray. If it's too pale for your liking, add 1/4 tsp dark soy and simmer for a minute - this will darken without altering flavour. Add more a bit at a time, use with caution, it darkens quickly!