Porchetta

Porchetta is a traditional Italian dish mainly served in households during holidays and festivals these days.
It is also one of the staples you would find in a public fair or an open market.

This dish has deep roots in Rome, and the Italian government has deemed it a "prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale" ("traditional agricultural-alimentary product", which means it's a recognized regional dish.

Recently, a really cool placed called Porchetta popped up in the east village here in NYC, and us dudes have been frequenting it quite a bit.
I thought I'd give it a try and made my first porchetta this past weekend.

All in all, I think it came out alright. Nothing to write home to nonna about, but with this first batch, I now know what I need to do to get it close to the pros.

Here's my recipe :

• Pork shoulder (aka Boston Butt)
• Fennel Seeds
• Rosemary
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive Oil

I like to roast with the bone in... but traditionally the bone is removed from the piece of meet.
In addition, tradition states it's either a boned out suckling pig, or a loin wrapped with a belly flap, then tied.

Take shoulder and score the skin and pierce holes to fill with flavor paste.
Grind up all the ingredients and rub all over and inject into the pierced areas of the shoulder.
Wrap with plastic and let marinade overnight in the fridge.

Next day, preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Place shoulder on roasting rack and pour in 3 C of chicken stock
Cover and throw in the oven for 2 hours
Take out and remove rack onto a dry roasting pan and roast covered for 2 hours
Take lid off and roast for another 2 hours. (total 6 hours)

The picture below is after the 2 hour steam and initial 2 hours of roasting...
I got hungry and had to eat then. But imagine an extra 2 hours of dry air circulating around the shoulder. The skin would have been crisp and the meats tender and pretty much falling off the bone.
I can't wait to make this again.