Credit: Jason Yang
Feel like making a special weekend dinner? This recipe is a perfect entertaining meal, but also great for using in weeknight meals all week long, from tacos to sandwiches and even pasta. Thanks to the experts at Fleishers for sharing with us!
Roasted Garlic Pork Belly Porchetta
Porchetta is a classic Italian boneless pork roast, typically roasted by rolling the pork belly around the loin. This preparation uses only the belly creating a rich and decadent centerpiece surrounded with a beautifully crispy crackling. Using the belly for porchetta is slightly more forgiving than the traditional porchetta because you do not have to worry about the loin drying out. Instead, you determine the doneness of the roast by how crispy you would like the skin to be.
Ingredients:
Boneless Pork Belly (Spare rib section, 5-6 lbs)
Pork Belly Marinade:
½ c Roasted Garlic
¼ c Canola Oil
¼ c Cider Vinegar
1 t Kosher Salt
1 t Chili Flakes
2 T Thyme
• Peel ½ c garlic cloves, place them into a small saucepan, and cover with canola oil.
• Simmer the garlic in the oil on medium heat until the garlic becomes golden brown. Roughly 10-15 minutes.
• Blend all of the marinade ingredients except for the canola oil using a blender. Pour the canola oil in slowly, emulsifying the marinade. If you do not have a blender, you can crush the roasted garlic with your hands and blend the rest of the ingredients together using a whisk.
• Lightly score the skin of the pork belly about half an inch apart in one direction. Do not worry about cross-hatching; the end result will be better without it.
• When scoring, lightly slice through the skin with a sharp knife. Do not cut through to the meat. You really just want shallow, barely visible lines in the skin to slightly reveal the fat. This allows for the fat to render and crisp up the skin as it roasts.
• Begin to butterfly the pork belly open. Slice horizontally through the center of the belly; try to keep the amount of meat on either side of your blade even.
• Do not cut all the way through, leave about a half of an inch of meat at the end intact. You should be able to open the pork belly up like a book.
• Season the meat generously with salt and pepper. If you are salt sensitive, the amount of salt in the marinade should suffice.
• Spread a thin layer of the marinade on the open surfaces of the meat. Avoid getting any marinade on the skin.
• Starting with the skinless end, tightly roll the meat until it forms a log shape with the skin on the outside.
• Tightly tie the roast crosswise, starting in the center and working outwards at 1-inch intervals. Trim any excess twine.
• Place on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet and season the skin generously with salt. This will draw out any excess moisture, allowing the skin to become very crispy during roasting.
• Place in the fridge overnight. 12-24 hours.
• Roast in the oven for 3-4 hours or until the skin has reached the desired crispness.
• Rest for 15-20 minutes.
• To serve, remove the twine and slice along that line left behind. This will be the easiest entry point to get a nice, neat slab.
Credit: Amy Lee
