Weeknight Italian Porchetta Recipes

WEEKNIGHT PORCHETTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Toss chopped garlic, chopped rosemary, fennel seeds, salt, and 1 tablespoon oil in a small bowl; season with pepper.
• Rub garlic mixture all over tenderloin (if you have time to do this in the morning, great; refrigerate pork until dinner). Scatter rosemary sprigs in a large baking dish and set tenderloin on top. Wrap bacon slices around tenderloin, tucking ends underneath so bacon stays put. Nestle halved heads of garlic around tenderloin and drizzle everything with remaining 1 tablespoon oil.
• Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of tenderloin registers 145° for medium, 40-45 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.

PORCHETTA AT HOME

Steps:

• Heat oven to 250 degrees. In a food processor or by hand, finely chop sage, thyme, rosemary and garlic together. Place mixture in a small bowl; add fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Stir well.
• With a utility knife, a razor blade or a sharp knife, score pork skin in a crosshatch diamond pattern, making 1/8- to 1/4-inch-deep cuts about 1 inch apart. With a paring knife, make about 10 incisions (about 1/2-inch deep) all over pork and stuff them with about 1/3 of the herb mixture.
• Tie pork into a compact roast with kitchen twine, brush olive oil over skin and rub all over with remaining herb mixture. Set pork skin-side up on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 2 hours.
• Pour wine over pork and baste with accumulated juices. Continue roasting, basting once every half-hour, until skin is well browned and meat is spoon tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours more. Remove pork from oven; let meat rest for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, for crispy skin, slice off the cap of skin and fat. Place on rack in roasting pan skin-side up and broil for 3 to 6 minutes, or until skin bubbles and crisps. Watch closely so skin does not burn. Slice roast, chop skin at score marks and serve pieces of each together.

PORCHETTA ITALIANA

Steps:

• Oil the shoulder roast inside and out and rub the salt and pepper into the flesh. Rub the garlic, rosemary and dillweed into the flesh. Put shoulder into a leakproof and container and pour the wine in and around the shoulder. Cover tightly and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 3 days.
• Remove the meat from the refrigerator and tie it at about 1 inch intervals to form an even roll. Bring the meat to room temperature for about 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Paint the roast with browning sauce and bake the roast until it has internal temperature of 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Estimate 30 minutes cooking time per pound. Remove from oven, tent with foil and let stand for 15 minutes before carving.

PORCHETTA PORK ROAST

Steps:

• Score skin and fat all over pork, taking care not to cut down to the meat.
• In a food processor or mortar and pestle, combine fennel fronds, rosemary, sage, garlic, lemon zest, salt, fennel seed, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Pour in oil. Pulse or mash until it forms a paste. Rub all over pork. If using a boneless roast, tie with kitchen string at 2-inch intervals. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 6 hours and preferably overnight.
• Remove pork from refrigerator 1 to 2 hours before you want to cook it. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Transfer pork to a rimmed baking sheet and roast 35 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 degrees and cook an additional 2 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 180 degrees, which will give you sliceable, tender meat. (Bone-in roasts will take longer than boneless ones.)
• Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 15 to 30 minutes before serving. Make sure everyone gets some of the cracklings.

PORCHETTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the pancetta in a food processor and pulse until it forms a paste. Add the garlic, lemon zest, orange zest, rosemary, parsley, brown sugar, chile flakes, capers and pinch of salt and thoroughly mix with the pancetta.
• Put the pork belly skin side down on a cutting board; arrange the pork loin in the center. Roll the belly around the loin so the short ends of the belly meet. If any of the belly or loin overhangs, trim the meat. Unroll, then set the loin aside.
• Pierce the skin side of the belly all over with a knife (or cross hatch score with a knife) so the fat will render during cooking.
• Sprinkle both the belly and loin with salt and pepper on both sides. Score the flesh side of the pork belly with a knife, and then rub the pancetta paste into it. Add the pork loin back in the center then roll up and tie. Put it into a roasting pan with a rack.
• Sprinkle the pork belly skin lightly with salt. Put in the oven and roast for 2 hours. Turn the heat up to 400 degrees F and bake until the skin is crisp and the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F, another 1 1/2 hours.
• Let the porchetta rest for 15 to 20 minutes, then slice and serve. Drizzle with olive oil and add some fresh black pepper on top if desired.

WEEKNIGHT ITALIAN PORCHETTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F
• Place tenderloin on shallow foil-lined pan sprayed with cooking spray; brush with dressing.
• Combine all remaining ingredients except bacon; sprinkle evenly over tenderloin. Wrap bacon, in spiral fashion, around tenderloin, overlapping sides of bacon slices if necessary to evenly cover tenderloin with bacon.
• Bake 25 to 30 min. or until tenderloin is done (145°F). Remove from oven. Let stand 3 min. before slicing.

PORCHETTA PANINI

Steps:

• For the Salsa Verde: Combine all ingredients in a bowl, tossing until thoroughly mixed.
• For Assembly: Lightly toast the flatbread in oven. Smear 4 of the flatbread pieces with 1/3 cup Salsa Verde. Layer with sliced porchetta, fontina, arugula and onions. Cover with remaining flatbreqd. Press in Panini press until melted. Serve.

PORCHETTA ITALIANO

Steps:

• Slice pork roast horizontally through the middle, stopping short of the opposite edge so it stays in one piece. Open the two sides and spread them out like an open book.
• Rub 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil over both sides of the pork roast. Rub 3 tablespoons salt and black pepper into the flesh. Spread onion, 8 garlic cloves, dill, rosemary, and parsley over both sides of the roast. Transfer to a cast iron pan and pour in wine. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator for 3 days.
• Remove roast from refrigerator, remove plastic wrap, and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C).
• Set cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Cook roast until browned, about 5 minutes per side.
• Roast in the preheated oven, covered, until pork falls off the bone, about 5 hours. Remove bone and stir pork; continue cooking until juices are absorbed, about 3 hours more. Remove from oven and let cool, covered, about 1 hour.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining 2 garlic cloves and broccoli rabe; cook and stir until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in another skillet over medium heat. Add red bell peppers and remaining 1 tablespoon salt; cook and stir until peppers have softened, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Divide pork among rolls. Top with broccoli rabe mixture, red bell peppers, and provolone cheese.