Porchetta with Garden Herbs with Salt and Vinegar Potatoes

With its golden crisp skin and super succulent flesh porchetta is a celebratory pork belly dish that is perfect for putting on the table to feed family and friends during the festive season, the big day itself, or any time you need to feed a few. There will be some fat render as the porchetta cooks, and this is excellent for coating potatoes before you roast them. Speaking of potatoes – serve this porchetta with these wonderfully tasty salt and vinegar potatoes.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1.5kg pork belly, boneless
1 tablespoon smoked sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 slice sourdough bread, crumbed
extra virgin olive oil
extra smoked salt
16 kipfler potatoes
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons cooking salt
2 stock cubes

Method

Start preparing the porchetta 8-12 hours before beginning roasting. Begin by placing the pork belly skin down and scoring the flesh with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern. This stops the porchetta from twisting as it roasts. Rub the flesh with the salt, pepper and garlic. Sprinkle over the sage and breadcrumbs. Press down with palms of your hands. Roll the belly so lengthways to make a tube-like shape. Using butcher’s string, truss the porchetta tightly. Place on a rack on a baking tray and place in the fridge uncovered for 8-12 hours.

Preheat the oven to 240ºC (220ºC fan) Rub the skin with oil and a liberal pinch of smoked salt.  Place the porchetta in the middle rack of the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 160ºC (150ºC fan) and roast for a further 2 hours. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and boil in a large saucepan with the vinegar, cooking salt, and stock cubes for 20 minutes or until just cooked through. Drain. After 2 hours of roasting carefully pour off the rendered pork fat into another roasting tray and place the potatoes in the fat. Return the porchetta and potatoes to the oven, turn to 240ºC (220ºC fan) and cook the porchetta for a further 10 minutes to crisp the skin. Remove and allow to rest in a warm place. Turn the potatoes. When browned remove from the oven. Remove string from porchetta, slice and serve with potatoes.

See below for a printable recipe card version.