Comments on: Porchetta

By: MC

MC — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 03:04:48 +0000

My Venetian friend, Cecilia, makes a mean porchetta and your post brought back many many happy shared memories of cooking and eating with her and her family. I have her recipe which I made many times over the years and now I can dream about porchetta being made in the beautiful State of Vermont where anything seems possible, food-wise, except a long growing season…

By: Molly

Molly — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:08:13 +0000

You can find an excellent explanation of spit-roasting (and other fire-place roasting techniques) in “The Magic of Fire” by William Rubel (Ten Speed Press, 2002). Rubel doesn’t address porchetta specifically, but you could certainly adapt the technique using the classic porchetta seasonings: garlic, rosemary, fennel, etc. The recipe in Bruce Aidells’s “Complete Book of Pork” (Harper Collins, 2004) is a good place to start for seasoning. Have fun!

By: curt mull

curt mull — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:19:03 +0000

While in Padua Italy this fall we spent some time in a wine bar and ate the best porchetta ever. I spoke with the owner and he told me they slow roast this on a spit at 300 degrees for about 2 to 3 hours turning it constantly I would like to try this but haven’t seen any recipe using this technique. any help out there?

By: Molly

Molly — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:27:02 +0000

Mike -
The skin is only important if you want decadently delicious bits of crunchy pork skin to nibble on. You can certainly make porchetta without the skin as long as there’s a generous layer of fat to baste the meat as it roasts.
You can also omit the fennel seed if you don’t care for it. I know of recipes that use wild fennel pollen. Some also include sage, bay leaf and even lemon zest. It’s up to you.
As for how much garlic and rosemary to use, it’s hard to be exact. I would start with about 1/3 to 1/2 teaspoon per pound of each and see how that works – so a 6 pound roast would get about 2 teaspoons of each.

I hope this helps.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:35:09 +0000

Hi. This is just in time for me. My wife and I promised a group of students that we would try to make porchetta for them this fall, and we have been experimenting. I have a roast in the oven right now, more or less along the lines you suggest. But I have some questions: Is the skin important, or will a layer of fat suffice? Is the fennel essential? Our favorite porchetta place is near the RR station in Rome (the porchetta itself comes from Ariccia), and the owner told us that all that is used is rosemary and garlic, salt and pepper. And do you have a suggestion about amounts of garlic and rosemary to a pound of meat? Thanks (and my students will thank you too!).

By: Walter Jeffries

Walter Jeffries — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 18:37:45 +0000

Hi Molly,

I just got off the phone with Cole and your name came up. He has moved to a new market in Morristown Corners called Green Top Market which is on Stage Coach Road. We raise pastured pigs. My wife, our son and I have been apprenticing with Cole to learn the craft of butchering. He is wonderful to work with.

Cheers,

Walter Jeffries
Sugar Mountain Farm
West Topsham, VT

By: Linh

Linh — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:43:49 +0000

This looks and sounds amazing! Any chance the recipe coming soon? I’d like to make this for my roommates. I think I could figure it out from your description above but a complete recipe wouldn’t hurt. Thanks!

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:37:47 +0000

Wow, this looks wonderful. I am going to have to try this on my Big Green Egg grill.

By: Marilou

Marilou — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:27:13 +0000

will you come back to Dayton, Ohio and teach us how to make this at the School of Cooking!

By: Lu Bennett

Lu Bennett — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:36:56 +0000

This is really giving me the push I need to try this!