Porchetta

Before You Start

A full day uncovered in the fridge. Wet skin will never crackle.

Low first, hot last. The other way round gives a greasy layer under a shell.

A serrated knife for slicing, or the crackling shatters off the meat.

Making Porchetta

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1. Lay the belly skin down and score the flesh side in a shallow lattice. Rub the coarse salt into the skin side.

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2. Set the belly skin up on a rack and refrigerate uncovered 24 hours to dry the skin.

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3. Wipe the salt off the skin and pat it dry. Turn the belly flesh up.

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4. Mix the fennel, garlic, herbs, pepper, fine salt, oil and lemon zest and rub the paste all over the flesh side.

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5. Lay the loin along one long edge and roll the belly tightly around it. Tie at 3 cm intervals with butcher's string.

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6. Roast on a rack at 150°C / 300°F fan / 170°C / 340°F / gas 3 for 4 hours.

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7. Raise the oven to 240°C / 465°F fan / 260°C / 500°F / gas 10 and roast 20 minutes more, until the skin blisters and crackles right across.

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8. Rest 30 minutes before cutting the strings and slicing thickly with a serrated knife.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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What's Going On Here

Dry skin or no crackling — there is no third option. The scored belly is salted and left uncovered in the fridge for a full day, which draws water out of the skin and is the single thing that separates shattering crackling from leather. The cooking is then in two parts: four hours low so the meat and fat render and the roll sets, then a short blast at maximum heat at the very end. Doing the blast first seals the skin before the fat under it has rendered, and you get a hard shell over a greasy layer.

After You've Cooked It

Refrigerated for 4 days. Reheat slices in a hot dry pan, not a microwave.

Ingredient Swaps

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

What to Serve Alongside

• Bread rolls
• Braised bitter greens
• A cold Umbrian white

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Creamy Parmesan Polenta, Ciabatta, Fave e Cicoria.

Common Questions About Porchetta

The Numbers per Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

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