Porchetta

Step 1

Preheat an oven to 275°F. Lay the porchetta on a flat counter or large cutting board skin side down, with the loin closest to you.

Step 2

With a thin sharp knife, poke holes in the meat, about 1⁄4 inch deep. Be careful not to cut all the way through.

Step 3

Season the porchetta: Sprinkle the porchetta liberally with kosher salt. Massage garlic into the meat. Crack black pepper evenly across the entire surface, about 40 turns on a hand grinder. Sprinkle fennel pollen, chili flakes, and rosemary across the entire surface. Zest the lemon skin with a fine grater and sprinkle evenly across pork.

Step 4

Roll the porchetta: Rolling the loin away from you, connect the top of the loin to the bottom of the belly making a roll. Slide a doubled length of butcher's twine under the roll and cinch a knot 2 inches from the edge of the roll. Repeat every 2-3 inches making sure the twine is taut and the knot tight.

Step 5

Cook the porchetta: Place the porchetta on the sheet tray with a roasting rack. Add 1 cup of water to the bottom of the tray. Cover tightly with the aluminum foil; this will help to gelatinize the skin through steam. Bake in the oven for 90 minutes. Remove the foil. Increase the temperature of the oven to 325°F and cook for 90 minutes. Fat will have rendered into the pan and must be removed. To safely drain the rendered fat, place a damp kitchen towel on the open oven door and place a medium sized steel bowl on the towel. While holding the sheet tray with oven mitts, slide the sheet tray toward you and gently tilt the tray so that the fat runs towards the corner of the tray and into the receptacle. Remove the rendered fat in this manner 1 or 2 times during the cooking process, being very careful as the pork fat is extremely hot. Check the internal temperature of the porchetta by inserting the thermometer into the center of the loin; it should be around 90–100°F. Degrease the tray and increase the temperature of the oven to 450°F and roast for 30 minutes. Check the internal temperature; it should be climbing towards 120°F. Roast for an additional 30-45 minutes, checking the internal temperature intermittently. Cook the porchetta until it reaches 140°F. At this point the skin should be bubbly and the belly fat will have rendered into the sheet tray. Be very careful of the rendered fat when removing the tray from the oven.

Step 6

Allow the porchetta to rest for 30 minutes before slicing.