×
Roast Porchetta | DonalSkehan.com, Taking the Sunday roast up a notch!
  • main-meals

Roast Porchetta

September 30

Porchetta can be made with either pork belly or a shoulder of pork. Both benefit from a slow cooking process that results in tender meat and crispy crackling. Serve with steamed vegetables, mashed sweet potato or salad leaves dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

 

 

 

  • serves Serves 4
  • time 120 mins

Method

  1. 1. Preheat the oven at 190˚C/375°F/Gas Mark 5. Chop rosemary, sage and lemon zest, set aside.
  2. 2. Lay the pork on a clean work surface with the skin-side up. Using a sharp knife or blade, score the skin lengthways and rub it with salt and fennel seeds.
  3. 3. Turn the meat over on the flesh-side and rub with salt and fennel seeds. Score this side roughly also and rub in the chopped rosemary, sage, garlic and lemon zest. Season with black pepper. Rolling in the same direction as you scored the skin, tightly roll the pork up with the skin on the outside.
  4. 4. Tie tightly with string at 2cm intervals. Place the onion on the base of a baking dish and lay the pork roll on top skin side up.
  5. 5. Place in the oven to roast for one and a half hours, in the last 15 minutes turn the heat up to 240˚C until you are left with puffed up crispy crackling.
  6. 6. Remove the pork from the oven and leave to rest on a cutting board covered with tin foil. Spoon off any fat from the roasting tin, squash the onions with the back of a fork and place over a medium high heat on the hob. Deglaze the tin with the wine, whisk in the flour and bring to a steady simmer. Season to taste and then transfer to a warmed gravy jug.
  7. 7. Remove the string from the porchetta and cut in generous slices. Serve with steamed vegetables and the hot onion gravy.

Ingredients

For the porchetta:

1.5 kg of pork belly with it’s skin

1 bunch of rosemary, finely chopped

1 bunch of sage, finely chopped

2 tbsp fennel seeds

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon, finely chopped

Sea salt & black pepper

2 onions, sliced in 1cm rounds

For the gravy:

1 glass of red wine

1 tbsp of plain flour

 

You'll Need

Cooking/butchers twine

Baking tray

Kitchen string