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Porchetta is a savory, fatty, show-stopping Italian pork roast recipe. Boneless pork belly gets filled with seasonings and slow-roasted for hours until it’s ultra juicy and the skin is crackly crisp. Hold on while I wipe the drool from my face!
I like to think of porchetta as the leveled-up version of my stuffed pork loin. This one’s all grown up and fresh off the boat from Italy!
A recent rainy weekend was the perfect excuse to make porchetta, central Italy’s version of a boneless pork roast. I took a juicy porchetta cut, wrapped it around a savory seasoning blend with fennel and garlic, and chilled it in the fridge for a day or two before slow-roasting in the oven for hours. It’s a process (1000% worth it, though). Once the heat of the oven hits that dry, fatty pork skin, it crisps up to golden, crackling perfection.
Why You’ll Love This Italian Pork Roast Recipe
- Tons of flavor. My porchetta has a fatty pork belly filled with fennel, shallot, fresh herbs, and garlic. I throw in some citrus to brighten everything up for maximum flavor. It’s totally mouthwatering!
- Ultra juicy. The outside of the porchetta crisps up in the heat of the oven, locking in the juices. The pork is so tender that it cuts like butter, and every bite gets infused with the savory flavors of the filling. Unreal.
- Quick to prep. This pork roast needs to rest in the fridge for a couple of days before roasting, but the porchetta itself is SO easy to prepare in under 30 minutes. Once it’s rolled and ready, the rest of the recipe is basically hands-free.
- Versatile. Porchetta is traditionally served in a sandwich (casual), but it’s also perfect for the holidays, or a cozy family dinner with some tasty sides.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The pork is the star of the show here, with a supporting cast of fresh herbs and seasonings that make the flavors shine! Here are some quick notes on what you’ll need for your porchetta. Scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list with the full details.
- Porchetta – In most US supermarkets, a porchetta cut is a slab of pork belly attached to the pork loin. You can also use just the pork belly.
- Olive Oil – To cook the veggies. Any neutral cooking oil is okay to use.
- Fennel – For this recipe, I dice up whole fennel bulbs. Fennel is a flowering herb with a sweet and citrusy flavor that I love (find it in my French bouillabaisse and Italian cioppino).
- Onion – Yellow onion, or another mild variety like shallot or brown onion.
- Fresh Herbs – I use a blend of fresh chopped rosemary, parsley, and oregano. The key word is fresh!
- Fennel Pollen – You might be thinking, “Whoa there, Gordon Ramsay, what the heck is fennel pollen?” But don’t worry, we’re not getting too fancy here. Fennel pollen, a.k.a. “culinary fairy dust” is a spice powder with an anise-like flavor that works wonders with porchetta. You can buy it in the spice aisle, at Walmart, and online. If you don’t have it, though, fennel seed is a good substitute.
- Citrus Zest – I use both lemon and orange zest in this recipe, but you can use all of one or the other.
- Garlic – You’ll want to use fresh garlic here. I always say, measure garlic with your heart, so feel free to adapt the amount to taste.
How to Make Porchetta
Savory, citrusy Italian porchetta takes a bit of time (most of it is chilling and resting the pork, mind you), which makes it great for holidays and special occasions. I love porchetta as an alternative to a glazed ham or Christmas turkey. It looks pretty as ever at the table and it’s just as rewarding to make!
Assemble
Luckily, preparing a porchetta is quick– all you need is about 25 minutes. Follow these steps:
- Prepare the pork. First, score the pork belly diagonally on both sides (as pictured) and place it skin-side-down over a row of butcher’s string.
- Make the seasoning. Meanwhile, get the diced fennel and onion sautéing in a skillet. Once that’s caramelized, stir the veggies into a mix of rosemary, parsley, oregano, fennel pollen, lemon zest, orange zest, garlic, salt, and pepper.
- Roll the pork. Spread the seasoning mix in an even layer over the pork belly, then roll it up tight. As you’re rolling, remember to give the skin side a little sprinkle with salt as you go. Finally, tie the pork belly closed with the butcher’s string.
- Chill. Pop your porchetta into the fridge for at least 24 hours, or you can leave it in there for up to 3 days! This step lets the skin dry out so it gets extra crispy in the oven.
Roast
Fast forward a day (or three) and it’s time to get this porchetta into the oven. Just like other roasting recipes, low and slow is key here.
- Prep. Take out the porchetta and let it rest on a roasting rack for 20 minutes, to take the chill off. Rub the outside with olive oil.
- Roast. The porchetta goes into the oven to roast at 300ºF for 3 hours. If you can, use the pan drippings to baste the outside so that it stays juicy.
- Make it crispy. In the final 25 minutes, crank the oven to 450ºF and let the pork crackling on the outside of the porchetta get nice and crispy.
- Rest. Once the pork is out of the oven, rest it for another 20 minutes before setting it free from the strings and slicing. Enjoy!
Why Didn’t My Porchetta Get Crispy?
There are a couple of reasons why porchetta doesn’t crisp up as expected. It could be that you didn’t chill it long enough for the skin to dry out. Also be sure to pat the pork belly completely dry before you fill and roll it, and make sure to salt the skin while you roll. All this helps draw out moisture, for extra crispy crackling. See below for more recipe tips.
Tips for Success
- Chill the porchetta as long as possible. Ideally, porchetta should rest in the fridge for 3 days. Make sure to chill it for 1 day at the very least.
- Don’t cover the pork. Leave the pork uncovered in the fridge so that the skin dries out.
- Use a meat thermometer. Porchetta is done roasting when the internal temperature reaches 160ºF. A meat thermometer works great for this. I usually check the meat in a few different spots just to be sure of the measurement.
- Rest before slicing. Very important! Just like resting steak or chicken, resting porchetta lets the juices redistribute, for tender slices.
What to Serve With Porchetta
On less festive occasions, I’ll serve porchetta with garlicky steamed broccoli or a fresh green salad on the side. Try this walnut chicken salad or a simple arugula salad drizzled with homemade maple balsamic vinaigrette.
As mentioned, porchetta is a great dish to make for the holidays. It goes well with so many of my favorite holiday sides, like classic stuffing and green bean casserole. Pork also pairs great with the flavors in this sweet-savory apple stuffing and my maple mustard roasted potatoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
It could be that your oven temperature isn’t high enough, or you didn’t oil the outside of the porchetta before roasting. Pork crackling needs heat to “crack”, so if the oven isn’t hot enough (450ºF), the skin can turn out hard and rubbery instead of crisp.
Roast your porchetta seam-side-down on a raised roasting rack set over a baking sheet. This leaves all that fatty, scored pork skin exposed to the heat so that it crisps up nice and golden.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Leftover porchetta can be stored whole or in slices in an airtight container, or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap. Keep it in the fridge and reheat within 3 days, or you can freeze it (see below).
- Reheat. Warm the porchetta covered in the oven until it’s hot throughout. I love leftover slices served the Italian way, in a porchetta sandwich (panino) with red onions and pesto!
- Freeze. Double-wrap the porchetta in plastic wrap or foil and freeze it for up to 1 month. I like to freeze it in slices so that it’s quicker to thaw. Defrost the meat in the fridge before reheating.
More Pork Recipes
- Pork Loin Roast
- Pork Tenderloin with Apples
- Braised Pork Shoulder
- Grilled Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
- Baked Honey Garlic Pork Chops
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Porchetta
Ingredients
- 8 pounds porchetta, or pork belly
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 fennel bulbs, diced
- 2 yellow onions, diced
- 4 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
- 2 tablespoons pepper
- ½ cup chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
- ¼ cup fennel pollen
- ¼ cup lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Prepare the pork. Pat the pork dry and use a sharp knife to score both sides in a diagonal pattern. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and evenly space 8 pieces of butcher’s string (vertically) across the baking sheet. Lay the pork belly, skin-side-down, over the strings. Set aside.
- Saute the veggies. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the fennel and the onion and saute until the veggies are lightly caramelized and softened.
- Make the seasoning mix. Whisk 2 tablespoons of salt together with the pepper, rosemary, parsley, oregano, fennel pollen, lemon zest, orange zest, and garlic. Mix in the sauteed veggies.
- Season the pork. Spread the seasoning mix evenly over the pork belly.
- Roll. Roll the pork belly around the seasoning. As you roll the pork belly up, sprinkle the skin side with the remaining salt. Use the butcher string to tie the pork tightly around the filling.
- Chill. Place the pork belly in the fridge, uncovered. Let it sit for at least 24 hours (ideally 3 days). The skin will dry out during this time so you can get a better crisp on the skin when you roast the porchetta.
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 300°F and set a roasting rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Place the pork on the roasting rack and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- Roast. Rub the pork with the remaining olive oil and roast for 3 hours or until the internal temperature reads 160°F at the thickest part. Baste the meat with the pan drippings every 30 minutes or so if you can.
- Make it crispy. Crank the oven up to 450°F and continue roasting the pork for 25 minutes or until the skin is nice and crispy.
- Rest. Remove the pork from the oven and let it rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Equipment
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
