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Porchetta - Italian Marketplace Slow Roast Pulled Pork Sandwich

Recipe #299883 | 1 day | 1 day prep | SERVES 10 (Change Servings)

RECIPE BY: French Tart

This is JUST gorgeous! A domestic take on the classic Italian marketplace or street food, Porchetta, which is actually roast suckling pig. Porchetta is thickly sliced and served in ciabatta bread as a delectable hot sandwich throughout Italy. My recipe is a much-adapted recipe taken from one of Nigella Lawson's cookbooks, and it is SO easy to make at home. I cook mine in the crock-pot for meltingly soft and tender pulled pork - however, I have also given traditional roasting directions in this recipe. Preparation time includes the 24 hour period required for the pork to marinade in its herbed and spiced rub.

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Ingredients

  • kg pork shoulder, boned, trimmed of fat and butterflied
  • tablespoons olive oil
  • large onion, peeled and finely diced
  • 6 garlic clove, peeled and finely minced
  • tablespoons fennel seed
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaf, finely chopped
  • 4 fresh bay leaf, finely chopped
  • teaspoon ground cloves
  • teaspoon salt
  • teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
  • 10 ciabatta roll
  • Directions

    1. 1
      Lay the pork on a large chopping board and cover with cling film. With a rolling pin, mallet, or other suitable blunt object, pound the meat as close to an even 1" thickness that you can manage.
    2. 2
      Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium high. Add all of the chopped onion, half the minced garlic, half the fennel seeds, all of the rosemary and bay, half of the ground cloves, salt and pepper, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until all the fragrance has been released from the herbs and spices. Transfer to a plate to cool.
    3. 3
      Spread and rub this mixture over and into the pork, then roll the meat up as tightly and neatly as you can. Tie with kitchen string at intervals.
    4. 4
      Mix the remaining ingredients (minced garlic, fennel seeds, ground cloves, olive oil) and rub it over the outside of the pork. Cover it with cling film and refrigerate 24 hours, or at least overnight.
    5. 5
      Remove the meat 40 minutes before cooking to allow it to return to room temperature. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150C/300F Take the cling film off the pork and place the pork joint in to a roasting tin.
    6. 6
      Cook the pork for 4 hours to 5 hours, until it is falling apart when you test it with a knife or fork. If the spices on the surface start to char too badly (a little blackness is a good thing), tent foil loosely over the roast. (I find I need to cover it for the last hour of cooking.).
    7. 7
      CROCK POT - at this stage, cook the pork in a crock pot for 4 to 5 hours on high, or on automatic for up to 8 hours.
    8. 8
      Remove from the oven and leave to rest at least 30 minutes to one hour. Slice, pull or shred the meat and serve in warmed ciabatta rolls.

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    Featured Reviews for This Recipe

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    From: 2Bleu (Bird&Buddha)

    On May 3, 2008

    Pulled pork sandwiches are a favored meal here in the southern half of the USA from Texas to North Carolina. This recipe is uniquely different from the USA in that the seasonings are rolled insided the meat vs. just slow cooked with spices. We feel either way works well. The southern version is easier to throw together but the Italian version has a difinite chef's quality about it. We omitted the fennel seed and used hamburger buns (common here) for the bread. The pork is very tender and the sandwich is nicely fragrant and has a great taste all it's own.

    1 person found this review helpful

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    Nutrition Facts

    Serving Size 1 (223g)

    Recipe makes 10 servings

    The following items or measurements are not included below:

    ciabatta rolls

    Calories 523
    Calories from Fat 362 (69%)
    Amount Per Serving %DV
    Total Fat 40.3g 62%
    Saturated Fat 13.1g 65%
    Monounsaturated Fat 19.1g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 4.3g
    Trans Fat 0.0g
    Cholesterol 142mg 47%
    Sodium 365mg 15%
    Potassium 662mg 18%
    Total Carbohydrate 3.2g 1%
    Dietary Fiber 0.9g 3%
    Sugars 0.7g
    Protein 34.9g 69%
    Vitamin A 28mcg 0%
    Vitamin B6 0.7mg 37%
    Vitamin B12 1.5mcg 24%
    Vitamin C 3mg 5%
    Vitamin E 1mcg 3%
    Calcium 54mg 5%
    Iron 2mg 14%

    detailed view...

    how is this calculated?

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