Crispy Roasted Porchetta for Sunday Family Dinner

I was first introduced to Porchetta by the beloved San Francisco truck, Roli Roti. A regular at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market, Roli Roti draws throngs of followers by the delicious scents of their slow cooked, free range rotisserie chickens. As the chickens spin on the rotisseries, the juices drip down on trays of roasted potatoes. Drools….

And of course, they have the most mouthwatering Porchetta – an Italian pork roast scented with herbs and enveloped in crispy, crackling skin. They serve their Porchetta on rolls piled high with arugula leaves and needless to say, it’s heavenly.

We were feeling quite ambitious for last month’s Sunday Family Dinner and attempted our own version of Porchetta. We did have a little challenge deciding on which cut of pork to use as some recipes call for whole pork belly with the skin on and other recipes list boneless pork shoulders.

We ended up using both pork belly and pork shoulder rubbed with a TON of herbs and garlic. To cook the Porchetta we enlisted my sister’s rotisserie oven but were not able to fit all the pork in at once. As such, we cooked a portion of it in the oven. As I would imagine that most folks do not own a rotisserie, the recipe below lays out a traditional oven cooking method. The oven Porchetta really is delicious but if you can get your hands on a rotisserie, I would highly recommend it.

The pork was extremely tender and the crackling—OH THE CRACKLING! Deliciously crispy and juicy! Just forget about your cholesterol for the day because it’s so worth it! We served ours on ciabatta slices with a ton of arugula and Italian pickled veggies. The peppery, slight bitterness of the greens with the tang of the veggies helped balance out the richness of the Porchetta. To accompany our Porchetta sammies we served a fennel salad with citrus and roasted potatoes.

For appetizers, my sis T whipped up some Bruschetta and my niece made her infamous Raspberry Chocolate Cake.

We were definitely pleased with how everything turned out and Dad even gave his stamp of approval. And although I’m a little hesitant to admit it, we even had a bit of excitement with a small little fire that occurred in the rotisserie oven. But don’t worry, it was quickly contained.

After all, it’s not a Sunday Family Dinner without a little adventure. 🙂

This Month’s Family Dinner Menu

Cocktails: Various Vino
Appetizers: Bruschetta
Entrees: Crispy Porchetta with Ciabatta and Arugula, Fennel Salad with Citrus, Roasted Potatoes
Dessert: Chocolate Cake with Fresh Raspberries

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Crispy Roasted Porchetta

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh rosemary
10 sprigs oregano
10 sprigs thyme
1/2 cup Italian parsley
20 large garlic cloves
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
zest of 2 lemons
kosher salt
black pepper
olive oil
5 pounds boneless pork shoulder (skin on) or pork belly with rib meat still attached (skin on)
2 pounds new potatoes, quartered
2 cups white wine or chicken stock

In a food processor, pulse together the rosemary, oregano, thyme, parsley and garlic. Add in red pepper flakes, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1/2 tablespoon black pepper and 1/2 cup olive oil. Pulse until a loose paste is formed.

If using pork shoulder, take a sharp knife and slice the pork open so that it lays flat. For both cuts of meat, score the skin of the pork. Heavily season the pork with salt and pepper. Rub the herb paste all over the inside of the pork, ensuring that you are able to get inside all the parts. Tightly roll up the pork and use kitchen twine to hold the roll together. Let the pork marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours–but overnight would be best.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. In a large roasting pan, add the potatoes and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and then pour the white wine over them. Place a roasting rack on top of the potatoes. Rub the exterior skin of the porchetta with oil and season with additional kosher salt. Place the porchetta on the rack and roast for about 30 minutes until the skin becomes crispy and brown. Lower the heat to 375 degrees F, tent the the porchetta with aluminum foil and continue to roast for approximately 2 1/2 hours. Remove the foil, raise the temperature back to 425 degrees F and continue roasting the porchetta until internal temperature of the pork reaches 155-160 degrees.

Remove the porchetta to a cutting board and tent for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, turn on the broiler and roast the tops of the potatoes until they are crispy. Thinly slice the porchetta and serve warm with your choice of accoutrements.