Porchetta – Stuffed pork wrapped in bacon

Porchetta is very popular in Italy and you can serve it either hot as part of a main meal or cold as part of an antipasto.

This dish is actually quite simple to put together, it simply requires a few steps involving simple ingredients. Here we are going to use a pork loin and cover it in bacon as some people get a bit worried about creating the perfect ‘crackling’. Using the method outlined below will give you a perfect porchetta every time that can make quite the centerpiece on the family table.

Porchetta is a classic Italian roast pork. The word “porchetta“ literally means little pig in Italian. Traditionally, an entire deboned pig, rolled up with fresh herbs, would be roasted over an open wood fire. The resulting roast is incredibly savory and delicious. It’s beloved all across Italy, served at celebrations, as a main dish at home, and as street food.

Ingredients – serves 6 – 8

• 2 pork loins (2.5 lb)
• 8 – 10 slices of bacon

For the stuffing

• 5 thick slices of fresh bread
• A generous sprig of sage
• 1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1 level teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 8 – 10 slices of bacon

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven at 365F/185C.
2. Prepare the stuffing by adding all the stuffing ingredients into a food processor and process until everything is chopped down and mixed.
3. Have ready a shallow baking tray with a rack mounted on it. See photo to get the idea of what we are aiming for.
4. Lay the enough strips of bacon out on to a clean surface, enough to fit the length of the pork and place one of the pork loins in the center. Cut the loin open down the center slightly to make it a little flat. You should have strands of bacon available on both sides of the pork to wrap over the top.
5. Top this loin with as much of the stuffing as you can, setting some aside.
6. Cut the other loin slightly, along the length to open it up a little and place the cut side down, over the top of the filling. Top this with the other pork loin and spread the rest of the stuffing over the top
7. Now take the ends of the bacon and wrap them over the top of the stuffed pork loins so that they enclose it.
8. There is no need to tie it. The bacon, if it is firmly wrapped, with keep everything snug.
9. Lift the wrapped pork onto the rack and place in the center of the oven, uncovered for 1 hour.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
11. If you are serving your porchetta hot, you will still need to do this to make it easier to slice. Then you can prepare a gravy and cook it to heat it directly in that. If serving chilled, simply cover and refrigerate overnight before slicing.

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