Southern Living Southern Cracklin' Pork Roast With Lemony-Herb Sauce — Photo:
Greg Dupree; Food Stylist: Micah Morton; Prop Stylist: Ginny Branch

Active Time:

1 hr 10 mins

Chill Time:

12 hrs

Total Time:

18 hrs 15 mins

Servings:

There’s so much to love about the holidays—towering cakes, sparkling cocktails, and cookies by the dozen—but few foods steal the show like the main dish at your holiday feast. You may be team turkey, a fan of ham, or beholden to beef tenderloin, but this year, why not try something new like this stunning porchetta? With its crispy exterior and deliciously spiraled interior, porchetta is more impressive than a plain beef tenderloin and much less expensive thanks to the main ingredient, pork belly.

What Is Pork Belly?

Pork belly comes from the underside of the pig—it’s actually the same portion that bacon is made from. Pork belly is different from bacon because pork belly is unprocessed (meaning not cured or smoked) and is often sold in thick slabs. This recipe calls for a skin-on pork belly, which is important. If the pork belly doesn’t have skin, you won’t get a crackly crust.

How To Shop For Pork Belly

While you may be able to find skin-on pork belly on display at some grocery stores, you will probably have to ask the butcher to get it out of the back for you. Pork belly is often sold with the skin removed, but in this case you definitely want the skin, because it gets crackly and delicious after roasting. Don’t be afraid to ask for help—butchers by nature are typically very into making the most out of meats without wasting anything, so they’ll be impressed by your request.

How To Make Porchetta

Rolling the pork belly into a spiral is easy to do, but there’s a very important step that you need to do first. While the skin is very important in this recipe because it gets nice and crispy, it’s important to note that only the skin on the outside of the roast will get crispy. So, any skin left on when you stuff and roll the roast will be chewy, which is not something you want to deal with.

Here’s an easy solution: Roll the unstuffed pork belly into a tight spiral (skin side out), then make a thin cut on the skin where it begins to overlap. Unroll the pork belly, turn it skin-side up, and then use a sharp knife to remove the skin that would be inside the rolled roast. Now, when you flip, stuff, and roll the pork belly, the only skin left will be on the outside, and will get nice and crispy.

How To Serve Porchetta

An elegant centerpiece like this porchetta deserves equally impressive sides. Try some of these:

Ingredients

1 (8- to 10-lb.) pork belly with skin
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
8 cups chopped fresh collard greens (from 1 [12-oz.] bunch)
1 Tbsp. fennel seeds
4 Tbsp., plus 1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for serving
12 garlic cloves, minced (about 1/4 cup)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary (from 4 [6-inch] sprigs)
4 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons), plus lemon wedges for serving
1 Tbsp. black pepper
Lemony Herb Sauce (recipe follows)

Directions

Score pork skin:

Place pork, skin side down, on a work surface. Using a sharp knife, score meat in a crosshatch pattern, about 1 inch deep x 2 inches wide. Starting with one short side, roll pork into a tight spiral; cut a shallow line in skin to mark where it overlaps. Unroll spiral; turn pork skin side up. Using shallow line as a guide, slice to remove skin from portion of pork that will be inside the roll. (Any skin left inside roll will not get crispy.) Carefully score remaining skin in a cross-hatch pattern, about 1/4 inch deep x 1 inch wide. Turn pork skin side down; set aside.
Cook collard greens filling:

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add collard greens, fennel seeds, and 1 teaspoon of the salt; cook, stirring often, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; let cool, uncovered, 10 minutes.
Season pork belly, and add filling:

With skin side down, sprinkle pork belly evenly with parsley, minced garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, black pepper, collard greens mixture, and remaining 4 tablespoons salt; pat mixture into pork.
Roll pork belly into a spiral:

Starting with the shorter, skin-removed side, reroll pork belly into a tight spiral (skin-removed side should be on the interior of the spiral). Tie spiral tightly in 1-inch intervals with kitchen twine. Place in a roasting pan fitted with a rack, and chill, uncovered, 12 hours.
Bake porchetta:

Preheat oven to 275°F. Bake until a thermometer inserted into thickest portion of pork registers 160°F, 4 to 6 hours.
Crisp skin:

Remove from oven, and increase oven temperature to 500°F. Bake until skin is crispy and deeply browned, about 25 minutes, basting with drippings during last 10 minutes of cook time. Remove from oven, and let rest 30 minutes. Slice with a serrated knife; discard twine. Serve with Lemony Herb Sauce, fresh parsley, and lemon wedges.

Lemony Herb Sauce

ACTIVE 5 MIN. - TOTAL 5 MIN. MAKES ABOUT 1 1/2 CUPS

Stir together 3 cups chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, 3/4 tsp. grated garlic, 1 tsp. lemon zest, 6 Tbsp. lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp. black pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil until combined. Serve immediately, or store, covered, in refrigerator up to 2 days. Let come to room temperature and stir to recombine before serving.