Super crispy and tasty Italian porchetta

Italian porchetta is originally prepared in rotisseries by boning and seasoning a whole pork, which is sewn completely and then baked for many hours over low heat. This heat allows all the fat to drain, until you get a super crispy exterior, as well as a lean and very tender interior. For this homemade version, pork breast (bacon) with skin is used, with a fantastic result.

Additionally, a grill or oven rack and kitchen string are required. This string is made of cotton and it’s suitable for use in food and resistant to cooking.

Porchetta is one of those preparations that confirms the greatness of Italian cuisine: it’s very common to find it sold in a sandwich or panino as a quick meal, but the artisanal preparation involved and the resulting flavor elevate it to a glamourous street-food.

A successful Italian porchetta has an absolutely golden and crispy crust, with fairly lean, tender and flavorfully seasoned meat. To achieve this, the piece of seasoned pork is rolled and tied up, so that the meat is completely covered by the outer skin. Then it is baked over low heat for a minimum of 2 hours and then over high heat to finish browning the surface.

The complete procedure to prepare Italian porchetta:

Start by spreading the bacon piece on a board with the skin facing up and make some cuts or stitches with a very sharp knife, but trying not to reach the meat.

If the bacon is very thick, it is possible to open (or “butterfly”) it, but always taking care that it still remains a single complete piece of meat. This will later help to roll it more easily, while increasing the surface area to season, making the porchetta tastier.

Next, season with the mix of spices (fresh or dry) that we have chosen and massage the meat so that the entire surface is impregnated.

Roll the piece of pork so that the meat is completely covered by the skin. Tie up with kitchen string, to ensure that the porchetta maintains the shape. Season the skin with salt and pepper. Some people even brush with extra virgin olive oil; although the skin will receive enough fat during baking, this is done to give an extra touch of flavor, and so that the salt sticks better to the surface.

Preheat the oven to very low heat, between 150 and 160 degrees. Place the porchetta on a grill or rack, taking care to place a large container underneath, onto which a large amount of fat will drain. Add a little water to the container, so that it provides moisture during cooking. Sometimes a little white wine and spices are also added to provide a certain additional aroma.

Bake initially at low temperature for between 1.5 and 2 hours (for a 1kg porchetta), adding an extra hour for each additional kilo of meat. The time is indicative and to be exact, this first stage extends until the center of the porchetta reaches 72°.

Then increase the heat of the oven (at least 230°) and continue baking until the crust has completely browned and the characteristic burnt balls of air have appeared (it sounds strange, but you will recognize them immediately when you see them!).

Let the porchetta rest ideally for half an hour before cutting.

Tips and tricks:

1. The spices are up to personal taste and preference. In many regions of Italy, special attention is given to finocchio (fennel) seeds, which give the porchetta a certain very characteristic aniseed touch, but which may not be to everyone’s liking.
2. Regarding the first step, make the cuts carefully and patiently, since the skin is very hard and the the knife might slip. There is even a device with several needles, which makes the work much easier. The goal is to create escape routes for fat during cooking, which means a leaner meat and crispier skin as a final result.
3. If we have chosen a piece of bacon that has part of the ribs, then we will surely have a good proportion of meat and fat. On the other hand, when the cut does not have a sufficient amount of lean meat, it is common to add a piece of pork loin in the middle of the porchetta, which is seasoned like the rest of the meat. After rolling, it will be in the exact center, it will be juicy after cooking and will make the final result more substantial.
4. After having tied up the porchetta, a good trick is to keep it in the refrigerator for at least 12 and up to 72 hours, always resting on a rack that allows liquid to drain underneath. In this way, the skin will be drier and therefore crispier after cooking. This step is an extra touch of quality, but it’s not absolutely required.
5. While baking, make sure that the porchetta does not touch the liquid in the container that we will place underneath, since contact with the water would prevent the skin from browning.
6. Check that the water in that container does not evaporate completely during baking, and add a little more if necessary.
7. Some recipes call for covering the ends of the porchetta with aluminum foil at the beginning of cooking. This is because after baking it for several hours, the meat on that external part can end up burnt, since it’s not protect by any skin. However, when the piece of pork is not so large, the baking time is shorter and we won’t need this precaution.
8. Some recipes prefer to start with baking at very high heat for 20 minutes and then continue at 150°. This method is probably very good, but I have not tried it. On the other hand, with the steps described above I can assure you that the results have been excellent.