Porchetta: A Traditional Italian Stuffed Roast Pork Joint

This porchetta’s stuffing is adapted from a recipe by Francesco, a local Italian butcher. Although the porchetta is often eaten sliced in bread whilst still warm, it can of course be eaten like any other joint of pork with roast vegetables, such as potatoes and carrots. Eaten as a roast it benefits from a gravy made from the cooking juices and liquids. Francesco uses carrots as a kind of rack for the joint, but of course, they also flavour the cooking liquid and can be eaten if not too soft. I’ve adapted this by adding extra vegetables to make a richer gravy.

There is a debate as to whether genuine porchetta skin is simply crisp, or crunchingly crackled like British pork crackling – we like it quite crunchy. Some suggest not putting oil on the skin before cooking to help the crackling, but I believe the best strategy for creating a good crunchy crackling is to ensure the skin is very dry. Therefore, keep it out of plastic packaging and rest it overnight, unwrapped in the fridge.

1. Preheat the oven to 220C, gas mark 7
2. Remove the pork from the fridge to come up to room temperature.
3. Toast the pine nuts in a small dry frying pan, remove, and set aside.
4. In a large flat frying pan, cook the pork mince on a medium high heat in a good glug of olive oil until crumbly and cooked through, but not browned. Transfer the mince to a bowl and set aside.
5. Add the onion to the pan with another good glug of olive oil and sweat gently for 10 minutes until soft. Grate the garlic, add to the onions, and stir for a couple minutes.
6. Add the breadcrumbs to the onion and stir, then add the herbs, chilli flakes, pine nuts, lemon zest and mince, stir and cook for 2 minutes, then add about 200ml of wine – or enough to moisten without making it too wet or soggy. Continue to cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.
7. Open out the joint skin-side down. If your joint is prepared in the traditional manner, the meat will unfold with in two stages with two joined flaps either side of the middle. Rub wine all over the exposed meat and add the stuffing evenly over the same area. Place four pieces of Parma ham on the top of the outside flaps – two on each end of the unfolded joint, then fold these end flaps over tightly and add another four pieces of Parma ham, two on each end flap again. Finally, fold over the ends again to join in the middle, turn over the joint, and tuck into a tight roll. Tie with strings.
8. Place the vegetables in a row on the bottom of a large roasting tin. Place the pork with the join at the bottom on top of the vegetables. Pour in the remaining wine and a little water to cover the vegetables. Pour olive oil over the skin and rub in well then sprinkle plenty of salt and grated pepper.
9. Put the joint in the oven for half an hour turning once.
10. Reduce the heat to 150C, Gas 2 and cook for 3 1/2 – 4 hours, until done. Ideally, use a meat thermometer and check internal temperature is at least 65C for 10 mins. Remove from the oven, take the joint out of the roasting dish and place on a warm plate, and cover with foil. Let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
11. The juices from the pan can be drained from the veg, skimmed of fat, and reduced to make a gravy.
12. Serve thin slices in a good crusty roll, with or without salad, and perhaps a drizzle of the cooking juices or gravy. Alternatively, serve thicker slices with roasted potatoes and vegetables with the gravy.