The almighty bangs ricocheting through Prahran Market’s meat hall are disconcerting. That is until you scope out the source and realise you’re about to hit the lunch jackpot.

In the back corner of G. McBean Family Butcher’s new marble-splashed mecca of meats, a cleaver-wielding, leather-apron-clad worker is carving up porchetta crowned with crackling to fill a roll that recently caught Jamie Oliver’s eye. “[It’s] worth going the wrong way ’round town to get,” the celebrity chef told Good Food last November.

Of course, he’s right.

Immediately, you notice the heft, and it’s twofold: the $21.90 price tag and the roll itself. But the latter explains the former, the shareable sanger weighing in at almost half a kilo.

Two hundred grams of that is top-quality free-range Berkshire pork from Victoria. More specifically, the loin and belly, which are rolled into a log that’s hit with a lemony, garlicky seasoning, then fired on the rotisserie to create crackling that’s, well, cracking.

Small, glistening shards jut out of the roll’s cross-section and, as you take your first bite, shatter between your teeth. They’re so crisp your chomps almost drown out the background hubbub.

A mound of pork, by turns juicy and crunchy, is brightened by pickled fennel and a herbaceous salsa verde, both made in-house.

Sourdough ciabatta from the market’s nearby Q Le Baker, swiped with caramelised butter, is sturdy enough to hold it all together, but spongy enough to soak up the oily goodness. The rest of it will inevitably end up on your phone screen as you tap out rave reviews to anyone who will listen. In Jamie Oliver – and G. McBean – we trust.

Open Tue-Sat, 6am-5pm; Sun, 7am-3pm (porchetta rolls available from 10.30am Thu-Sun)

Shop 501, Prahran Market, 163 Commercial Road, South Yarra, gmcbean.com.au

Five other porchetta rolls to try

Heartattack and Vine, Carlton, $20

Arguably Melbourne’s most loyally loved porchetta roll, “it has basically been the foundation of our day trade from day one”, says co-owner Nathen Doyle.

On the menu from noon, it’s freshly crackled in a rip-roaring oven, then chunked up and piled onto ciabatta with house salsa verde. Dollops of sambal and Dijon mustard are for dipping.

329 Lygon Street, Carlton, heartattackandvine.com.au

Ugo Cucina Popolare, Heidelberg West, $16

Chunky giardiniera (Italian pickled vegetables) is the porchetta roll point of difference at this inconspicuous cafe in an industrial pocket of the north-east. It comes on Noisette panini with sliced-to-order Abruzzese-style porchetta and salsa verde.

The team also does a burrata-topped focaccia version ($22) at South Melbourne Market’s Burrata Bar, if you fancy a double dose of decadence.

69 Sheehan Road, Heidelberg West, ugo.com.au

Saluministi, CBD and Docklands, $17.50

After a decade in business, this popular panini bar churns through about 200 kilos of porchetta a week – at three locations – for its best-selling porchetta panino. Free-range pork is hand-rolled and seasoned, and thick shavings are served in stone-baked ciabatta rolls with a swipe of creamy artichoke paste, pecorino and rocket.

388 Flinders Lane, Melbourne; Shop 3, 697 Collins Street, Docklands; 892 Bourke Street, Docklands; saluministi.com.au

Alimentari, Fitzroy and Collingwood, $17

A bit of a green goddess, this roll is jam-packed with a garlicky (and slightly spicy) medley of broccoli rabe, cavolo nero, silverbeet and kale. There’s some funk from the aged provolone, and anchovy- and mustard-spiked mayo. But the porchetta holds strong among it all, despite being sliced fairly thin after its slow-roast in the French rotisserie.

251 Brunswick Street Fitzroy; 304 Smith Street, Collingwood; alimentari.com.au

Abruzzo Lab, Epping, from $18

Arrosticini – grilled meat skewers from Italy’s Abruzzo region – are the headliner at this suburban hidden gem. Lunchtime porchetta panini (with various fillings) are a close second. The pork is steam-roasted overnight for maximum moisture, then brushed with white vinegar and salt before receiving a blast at high temperature to get the belly completely crackled. The vessel? Mini ciabatta from god-tier Avondale Heights bakery Impasto Forno Antico.

Shop 14, 24-30 Taryn Drive, Epping, abruzzolab.com.au