Porchetta in Paradise

Porchetta
Prep time- 1 day
Servings – A small village

This gorgeous golden pork roast seemed intimidating at first, however Steve(and reluctantly myself, but mostly Steve) were determined to find any trace of Italian we may have in our very Northwestern European genes to create this glorious masterpiece… and we more than succeeded!
This roast can feed a crowd and is also perfect for leftovers, especially sandwiches. The deliciously beautiful amber-colored cracklings as it comes out of the oven is worth the effort, time and garlicky fingers.
Warning: 100% proven to impress everyone

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Ingredients
6 lb Pork Belly
2.5 lb Tenderloin (Ours was split in two)
1 whole garlic bulb, minced/crushed (5 TBSP)
1/3 Cup fresh Rosemary ~ 5 sprigs chopped
5 Sage Leaves ~ 1 Sprig
Zest of 1 Lemon
1-2 TBSP Crushed Red Pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 TBSP Carroway seeds
1/4 Cup EVOO or OO
Tools
Meat Pounder
Saran Wrap
Butcher’s string
Roasting pan/holder
Meat thermometer
Mortar & Pestle

TIP:
Go to a real Butcher and get your meats! We went to Tillman’s Meats and not only were they extremely helpful but it was heaven! We will definitely be returning soon to rent equipment they provide for making your own beef jerky. For the Porcetta we got a 6 lb pork belly and 2.5 lb pork tenderloin (that was two pieces), it doesn’t matter if yours is one or two, you will be able to wrap it in the pork belly after you use the meat mallot/tenderizer.

Directions
Day 1
1. If your pork belly is frozen, leave it out for however many hours the butcher recommends or until it has reached room temp.
2. While the pork belly is reaching room temperature, spices

get all your spices ready for the inside of the porchetta. In a mortar and pestle, add the carroway seeds, minced sage and rosemary, zest of 1 lemon, crushed garlic, red pepper, salt and black pepper. Stir it then add the EVOO and use the mortar and pestle to finely crush together all the ingredients until it forms a paste. pounder

3. Once the Pork Belly is ready to go, place between saran wrap, with the skin side down and pound it with the tenderizer until it is seemingly even. It should be square-like and thick.

4. Remove the wrap and place on a cutting board or butcher’s table with the skin side up and score the skin – creating “diamonds” through the skin and fat. We cut about half an inch throughout, but not all the way through the meat. This can be difficult so make sure you have a very sharp knife.

5.Place the pork belly scored side down and sprinkle salt and pepper generously on the meat, then evenly spread the spice paste on the meat as well as all over the tenderloin in the center of the pork belly and wrap it up like a log. Use the butcher string and secure the “loaf” in two inch intervals. Here is a video that explains how to do this if you need help: How to tie a Porchetta Video.

6. Wrap the Porchetta and place in the fridge overnight so all the flavors can marinate.

Day 2

7. Remove the pork from the fridge 2 hours before you want to cook and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Transfer the pork to a rimmed baking sheet and roast it for 30 minutes. Then reduce the temp to 325 and cook for 2 hours, then 10 minutes at 400 for the grand finale.
8. Transfer the porchetta to a cutting board, and let it rest for 20 minutes. Admire the crisp, golden masterpiece you have created then carve and enjoy the cracklings.