Porchetta
April 18, 2008 
In Italy, this is a common way to fix pork loin which can be dry and bland, because it is so lean. I never make pork loin because of that, unless I butterfly it and stuff it somehow and cook it for a long time. The flavors used here - sage, rosemary, salt, and garlic - are classic flavors in Italy to use with pork. Use good white wine for the sauce and then pour yourself a glass.
Porchetta
for a printable recipe, click here
Ingredients:
- 1 center cut pork loin (3-5 pounds)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- several sprigs of fresh rosemary
- several sprigs of fresh sage
- handful of fresh parsley
- kosher or sea salt
- pepper
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Instructions:
Butterfly pork loin, fat side down. Don't trim this outer layer of fat off - it will help keep the meat moist.
Place plastic wrap over meat and pound until flat and even.
Strip herbs off their stems. Finely chop together with the garlic. Salt and pepper the meat. Spread the herbs on top of the meat.
Roll up the meat, secure with twine. Fat side will be on the outside.
In a heavy oven proof roaster, brown the meat on top of the stove. Brown well on all sides.
Place small piece of foil on top of pork roll, tuck in around the meat. This will keep the meat from drying out during roasting.
Roast at 325 degrees for at least two hours - you can roast for three hours and the meat will be even more tender. During roasting, if you feel the pan is too dry, add a little water to keep the meat moist. Most times, you shouldn't have to do this.
Take the meat out of the pan and place on cutting board. Put roaster on top of stove. You should have some very nice browned bits of meat - fond - on the bottom of the pan. Turn the stove to medium heat. Add the wine and, with a whisk, deglaze the pan. Add the broth and stir until you have a nice pan sauce.
Slice roll and pour pan sauce over the slices.
Reader Comments (5)
i so love this blog
it is so my thing
will you move to nashville?
i bookmarked this one
oh, and btw - i bought the kitchen aid pasta rollers and messed around with it last week
SO FUN
i loved it
why i waited this long...?
CEF: Grazie! I so love your blog! I'm glad you love the pasta rollers. I love to make lasagna noodles with them (that's an upcoming post). It's nice to have the machine do the work! Don't we love our KA mixers?
In Tuscany, where I studied, this is called Arista di Maile, and is often cooked on the rib bones as a rack, even though the loin is removed and stuffed. For a home version of porchetta, which is a whole pig, I was taught to take a pork belly, skin on, lay it out skin side down and score lightly. Rub your seasoning mix into the meat, place the stuffed (not tied) loin in the middle, then roll, tie and roast until the skin is crackling and crisp. We served this recently at our local wine auction and fundraiser and there was not a scrap left, though it also makes a super panini filling.
From The Italian Dish:
Julia: Thanks for the recipe! Pork belly is not easy to find where I live, but this sounds delicious!
Holy crap, this looks so good! I've attempted porchetta with a sucking pig, but it was so VERY difficult to source a baby pig. Yours looks like a great version, much more feasible.
Cheers,
Karen