How to make Porchetta like a World Champion
You’ll have to hear the irresistible crunch to believe it. I paid a visit to the award-winning king of Porchetta, Raffaele Venditti of Venditti Food. To reveal the best Porchetta recipe and share just how they do in Italy.
In this video, Raffaele breaks down exactly what he does behind the scenes and also how you can modify it to make it at home.
Watch the World Best Porchetta Maker at work
How to Make PORCHETTA Like a World Best Porchetta Maker from Italy
What is Porchetta?
Porchetta is a savoury, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. And I think this recipe is about to change your life. What started as a sandwich-style street food so customers could eat it on the road. Has transformed into a culinary masterpiece that claims the cutting board as its favourite. The cut is deboned and roasted fat and skin are still on for an out-of-this-world foodie experience.
It consists of the central part of the pork belly which is where slices of bacon come from. Choosing the right amount of fat quantity from this cut is really important as the fat will melt and give unbelievable flavour to the meat. It features a light and delicate Mediterranean-style spiciness that never overpowers the quality of the meat. Finally, the marinated skin results in a bubbly crust that gives this dish its signature, crunchy finish.
Vincenzo’s Plate Tips to making this Porchetta Recipe:
Getting the shape right
When de-boning the pork belly you need to add any meat back into the centre. Once this is done, and the meat rolled, the final product should have an equal diameter. If you want to avoid this process, you can also purchase the cut without the bone.
The trick is….PRACTICE!
You may not want to hear it but if your porchetta isn’t quite perfect the first time you make it that’s completely normal – it takes a lot of practice to get the recipe just right! Even the way the Porchetta master spreads the spice mix over the meat is a really special technique that takes many attempts to master. In the words of Raffaele, “If you watch this video a million times, you’ll become the best Porchetta chef in the universe.”
Make sure you marinate
Leaving the porchetta to rest and absorb the spices for 48hr is a really important step to make sure the product will be perfectly crispy. It really adds to the texture and means it is therefore important to prepare ahead of time.
All sewn up
A trussing needle is used to sew the Porchetta along with waxed, vegetable-based string so water will not enlarge it. When doing this, binding it all together is an important part of this as well to make sure everything in the centre remains compact.
Timing? Commercial vs at-home
Venditti Food will leave the meat to mature over time which allows it to lose the juices, and the spices to get into the muscles and relax the nerves and after 10 days at 39 degrees Fahrenheit, it will be cooked in the oven. This is how they do it at Venditti Food but at home, make sure it rests for the required 48hr, then cook it as per the instructions for 3.5hr.
Do you need to flip it?
While you may be tempted to do so, in fact, you do not need to flip the Porchetta at any point while it is cooking in the oven.
How to serve this award-winning Porchetta
The usual way of serving porchetta is in a “rested stage”, not too hot or cold. Whether you make a Porchetta panino, serve it with homemade sauces, or add it to a pasta dish. You don’t need to be a professional chef to recreate this mouth-watering Porchetta recipe right out of your very own kitchen.
When cutting it, the knife must have a smooth blade as the saw blade breaks the slice.
Recipes you can serve with alongside your Porchetta
A delicious side dish to serve this with is Roasted Potaotes… and my Nonna’s are obviously the best.
You must try Panino with Porchetta, and my Ciabatta Bread is perfect for that.
Porchetta Recipe
Porchetta is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition and I think this recipe is about to change your life. What started as a sandwich style street food so customers could eat it on the road has transformed into a culinary masterpiece that claims the cutting board as its favorite. The cut is deboned and roasted fat and skin still on for an out of this world foodie experience. Learn this Porchetta recipe and make it at home like a World Champion!
Equipment
- 1 Trussing Needle
- String Waxed, vegetable-based
- Aluminium pole
- Sharp knife Should have a smooth blade
Ingredients
- 13 kg Boned slice of pork belly 28.6 lbs (bones-out weight) It must fit into your oven.
- 23 g Salt, Rosemary, Pepper, Coriander 0.8 oz (Pre-mixed amount for every 1 kg or 2,2 lbs of meat)
- Garlic Dried slices - as much/little as you want
- Juniper, Pepper
- Rosemary Fresh
- 250 ml Beer 1 x bottle
Instructions
- To prepare the pork belly, remove one rib at a time then lay any meat fillets back inside.
- Then, add flavours to the Porchetta including salt. Spread the first spice evenly over the entirety of the side facing up.
- Salting is also done by hand. With the first spice mix, spread it evenly over the entirety of the side facing up.
- Next add as much garlic as you desire, and finish with the second spice blend and more rosemary.
- The product must be thoroughly and carefully massaged to get the spices into the meat and also left to rest. It’ll need 48 hours in the fridge to allow this process to take place.
- To stitch the porchetta, you begin by using a steel pole and lying it in the center. Start with two stitches to hold the Porchetta together. From there, you can begin on one end and start stitching it together - making sure the pole always stays in the center.
- To cook this porchetta in your home oven, first lay it directly on the oven shelf with a pan underneath with water and a bottle of beer for a homemade flavor.
- Leave it in the oven for one hour at 220°C (428 F), the second hour at 210°C (410 F) and the third at 200°C (392 F).
- After three hours, we move on to the scorching phase. Pour two glasses of water on the Porchetta, put it back in the oven for 1/2 hour at 250 C (482 F). The total cooking time for this recipe is 3.5hr.
Notes
The spice mixes used are more traditional blends but your Porchetta can be just as delicious with your own choice of favorite spices instead. To get ideas about alternatives, watch the episode all about how to cook Porchetta.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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The water that you pour over for the scorching phase is it hot or cold?
When you pour water over the bread dough during the scorching phase of bread-making, it’s best to use hot water. The hot water creates steam, which helps to create a crispy crust on the bread.
However, be careful not to use water that’s too hot, as it can damage the bread dough or affect the yeast.
Hi Vincenzo, how long can you keep leftovers? And will the crispy skin become chewy by cooling it?
I also want to make a smaller version of this, like 2-3kg and would like to know if the temperature and or time should change
Thank you for sharing the knowledge and love!
Regarding leftovers, you can keep them in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days, but it’s best to consume them as soon as possible to enjoy the full freshness and flavors.
As for the crispy skin, it may lose some of its crispiness after cooling, but you can reheat the porchetta in the oven or a pan to regain some of that crunchiness before serving.
When making a smaller version, like 2-3kg, the cooking time will indeed be shorter. As a general guideline, you can estimate about 1 hour of cooking time per kilogram of porchetta. However, to be precise, it’s always best to use a meat thermometer to ensure it reaches the internal temperature of at least 70°C (160°F) for safe consumption.