Make Meatsmith’s porchetta at home
Make Meatsmith’s mouth-watering porchetta at home. Perfect for a large gathering this festive season.
We like to make our version of porchetta with pork belly, and it’s one of the most popular items we prepare at (our Melbourne restaurnat) Meatsmith. We use belly because we can cook it for a long time so that the meat breaks down and becomes soft and gelatinous but with perfectly crisp skin. For the best crackling, leave your rolled porchetta uncovered in the fridge overnight. This recipe serves a large gathering, but the recipe can be halved if you’re catering for less people.
This is an edited extract from Meatsmith by Andrew McConnell and Troy Wheeler (Hardie Grant, $60). Photography: Mark Roper.
If you like this, try:
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Roast Porchetta
Ingredients
1 × 3kg deboned pork belly, skin on
40g salt
10g black pepper, freshly ground
20g chilli flakes
10g fennel seeds
5 black garlic cloves
Zest from 1 lemon
180g flat-leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Method
- Start by butterflying the pork belly with a sharp knife, cutting through the long side of the belly through the middle of the meat, getting as close as you can to the end without cutting all the way through. Flatten out the butterflied belly, placing it skin-side down with the meat side closest to you. Combine the salt, pepper, chilli flakes and fennel and sprinkle evenly over the whole opened surface.
- Peel the black garlic and use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly over the opened surface. Sprinkle evenly with lemon zest and parsley.
- Starting with the part of the belly closest to you, tightly roll up the meat into a log, so that the skin wraps all the way around. Secure with butcher’s twine in the centre, then at both ends. Then, truss the whole roast: start at one end and tie a string every two finger widths towards the middle string. Repeat with the other side. Set aside, uncovered, in the fridge overnight.
- One hour before you are ready to cook, prick the skin all over with the point of a sharp knife. Rub the porchetta generously with olive oil and set aside on a wire rack set in a roasting dish. Preheat the oven to 150C.
- Cook your porchetta, uncovered, for 2½ hours (you can also add a few peeled potatoes to the pan). Increase the oven temperature to the maximum and continue cooking for 30 minutes until the skin is blistered and crispy. Once you’re happy with the level of crackle on the roast, remove from the oven and set aside on the bench to rest for 20 minutes. Carve and serve with mustard fruits and a simple rocket and parmesan salad. Serves 15