Pork belly easy porchetta recipe with fennel, sage and chilli

Name: Pork belly easy porchetta recipe with fennel, sage and chilli
Yield: 4-6
Ingredients: 1.5kg pork belly, boneless; 1 tbsp fennel seeds; 2 tsp black peppercorns; 5 cloves garlic; ½ tsp salt, plus extra for salting; 8 sage leaves; 1 tsp chilli flakes; 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Adam Liaw

November 21, 2017

Belly porchetta with fennel, sage and chilli.William Meppem

A traditional porchetta rolls pork belly around a length of loin but this belly-only version is much easier to do at home. You'll need to prep this ahead, but the rest is simple.

Ingredients

1.5kg pork belly, boneless
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
5 cloves garlic
½ tsp salt, plus extra for salting
8 sage leaves
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. With a skewer or small knife, prick dozens of small holes all over the surface of the pork belly. On the meat side of the pork, score long, deep lines along the length of the meat.
2. Toast the fennel seeds until fragrant, then pound with a mortar and pestle with the peppercorns, garlic, salt, sage and chilli to produce a rough paste. Mix through the oil.
3. Rub the paste in the meat side of the pork and, with kitchen string, tie the pork at two-centimetre intervals so that it forms a roll with the skin on the outside.
4. Place the pork on a rack and liberally salt the skin. Refrigerate uncovered overnight or for at least eight hours to dry the skin.
5. Heat your oven to 220°C. Brush the salt from the skin of the pork and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 150°C and cook for 2 hours.
6. Increase the heat to as high as possible and cook for 10 minutes to crisp the skin. Rest for 10 minutes, remove the string and slice to serve.