Porchetta
Description
This is definitely the tastiest discovery of the summer of 2025! All Brock! We took a deep dive into porchetta research and Brock ended up taking ideas from a few places…but the main outline is courtesy of The Meatwave. Pork belly, scored and lined with an incredible rub…rolled, tied, smoked on the Kamado and finally seared on the grill, this was crispy, juicy meat heaven – enjoy!
Ingredients
1 large pork belly – ours was about 12 lbs., sourced from Spragg’s and Brock trimmed it for an even thickness across the entire pork belly
kosher salt
1 t. baking powder
Porchetta Rub
15 g fennel pollen – I found ours at The Silk Road Spice Merchant
5 t. coarse pepper AND 1 1/2 t. lemon zest
2 T. EACH minced garlic AND finely chopped fresh sage
1 T. EACH finely chopped fresh thyme and rosemary AND red pepper flakes
Instructions
Thoroughly mix all of the rub ingredients.
Lay the pork belly skin side down on a large cutting board and roll it from the long end to determine if part of the skin will end up inside the roll. If so, cut a strip of the skin off so that the skin on the porchetta will only be exposed on the outside of the roll.
Lay the belly out again (skin side down) and score to about one half the thickness of the belly in a one-inch by one-inch diamond pattern. Evenly season the belly with 5 tsp of salt and then sprinkle the rub evenly across the surface. Work the salt and rub into the surface and score-lines.
By this time the meat should have warmed up which makes rolling it easier. Cut enough lengths of butchers twine so that you can tie the rolled porchetta every inch or so. Position all of the string on a flat surface and place the un-rolled belly on top of them. Roll the belly from the long side and ask a friend to help tie the string as you hold the roll as tightly as possible – use needle nose pliers to pinch the twine as you tie each knot.
Mix 5 teaspoons of salt and 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder together in a small bowl and rub the mixture over the exterior skin of the rolled porchetta. Dry marinate uncovered in the fridge for 24 hours – we put ours on a rack on a baking sheet.
Fire up the smoker to 275 degrees and add fruitwood smoking chunks of your choice. Place the rolled porchetta in the smoker and smoke until it reaches 180 degrees in the centre of the roll. Depending on the size of your smoker, you may need to cut the length of the porchetta in half before you start smoking. Cooking will take approximately 6-8 hours. Remove the pork belly from the smoker and let it rest for 30-60 minutes.
This next step is critical to getting a crispy skin that is not tough. Place the cooked porchetta on a rack in an oven pre-heated to 500 degrees. It should take about 15 minutes for the skin to blister over the entire surface – watch closely and roll occasionally for even blistering. If you take it out before the skin blisters it will be tough but you don’t want to over cook it. It’s heaven when you get it right.
Slice the porchetta into 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick slices and serve with soft warm italian rolls to make sandwiches in the traditional way – no condiments required! Alternatively, serve with your favorite sides and enjoy.
