Homemade Porchetta Recipe

Meet your new weekend roast

In Seattle, Pike Place Market diners can sample an array of seafood dishes at Tom Douglas's new restaurant, Seatown Snackbar. The chef has also devoted half his menu to rotisserie meats. His herb-and-garlic stuffed porchetta has proven a predictable crowd favorite. It appears on a sandwich with sweet pepper relish, as a main with seasonal sides and on the takeout menu. Home cooks who don't have a rotisserie needn't miss out: You can slow roast the pork instead and fill your kitchen with the scent of an Italian classic on a Sunday afternoon.

Recipe adapted from Jack Spiess, Seatown Snackbar, Seattle

Porchetta
5 from 27 ratings
A recipe for porchetta from Seattle's Seatown Snackbar
Servings
4
to 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 boneless pork shoulder (about 3 pounds), trimmed
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup fennel fronds (from 1 bulb fennel), finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted and ground with a mortar and pestle
  • 2 teaspoons red-pepper flakes
  • 1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 2 celery stalks, chopped
  • 2 cups chicken broth
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 300˚. On a large cutting board, butterfly the pork shoulder to create a 2-inch-thick rectangle of meat. Cover the pork with plastic wrap and pound with a mallet until it is approximately 1 inch thick. Remove the plastic wrap.
  2. Season the pork liberally with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine the fennel fronds, garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds and red-pepper flakes and sprinkle two-thirds of the mixture over the pork. (Reserve one-third of the mixture.) 3. Roll the pork up tightly. Using butcher twine, tie the pork every few inches; the tied pork should resemble a log. Season the outside of the pork with the reserved herb mixture and salt and pepper.
  3. In a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan, arrange the onion, carrots and celery. Place the pork over the vegetables in the center of the pan and pour the chicken broth around it. Roast the pork until well browned and an instant-read thermometer registers 150˚, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Discard the broth and vegetables. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve immediately.
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