Pork shoulder will be used to create a more compact, less complicated version of classic porchetta. With some fried, crispy pancetta on top, it creates a fantastic sandwich.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 8 hrs 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 9 hrs 45 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (2 1/2 pound) boneless pork shoulder blade roast
- olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 orange, zested
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- olive oil
- ½ anchovy fillet
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
- Place pork roast on a work surface. Use a sharp knife to make a lengthwise cut about 1 inch from the edge of the meat, slicing down but not cutting through. Open the meat flat along the cut. Keeping the knife parallel to the cutting board, continue to slice the roast open so you can unroll it into a large, flat piece. (You can also ask your butcher to butterfly the roast for you.) When the meat is unrolled, make small slashes through any connective tissue or extra-thick parts so the roast is as even in thickness as possible.
- Drizzle cut surface with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Rub oil into meat and generously season with 2 teaspoons kosher salt, black pepper, sage, rosemary, orange zest, garlic, and crushed fennel seeds. Press seasonings in firmly with your hand, roll up the pork roast, and tie the roast in several places with kitchen twine.
- Place the pork roast on a rack, set the rack on a plate, and sprinkle meat with remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Refrigerate the roast uncovered overnight to dry-age.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Lightly oil a baking dish and place roast into dish. Rub meat with 2 teaspoons olive oil.
- Bake in the preheated oven until outside is seared, 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and continue to roast until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast reads 145 degrees F (65 degrees C), about 1 hour more. Loosely cover roast with foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice thinly to serve.
- Mash anchovy fillet in a small bowl and add red pepper flakes, white wine vinegar, and Italian parsley. Stir to combine. Serve drizzled on pork.
- Make a thin sauce from the pan drippings from the roast by adding a splash of water and stirring to dissolve the browned bits of food in the bottom of the baking dish. Dip crusty ciabatta rolls into the juices before assembling sandwiches.
- To make sandwiches, pile thin slices of roast pork onto toasted and dipped ciabatta rolls with arugula and a drizzle of vinegar sauce.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 266 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 71 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 1032 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 19 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made this dish for a Christmas Dinner. It was amazing!
I tried roasting at 250F to slow roast for 2 hours. Didn’t have any rosemary on hand so I sub’d w/italian seasoning. It was absolutely gorgeous! Would definitely do it again!
My husband and I hosted a get-together with 20 Allrecipeeps this past weekend, and we made our first Porchetta! We did take this recipe one step further and purchased a slab of pork belly from the butcher counter of our farmers market. We layed the pork belly flat, seasoned it well and then placed the butterflied boneless pork shoulder on top and seasoned that before rolling and tying. We did not make the vinegar sauce, and we really just eyeballed the seasonings (sticking to the seasonings in this recipe). My husband is from Italy, not far from Ariccia, famous for “Porchetta di Ariccia”. With the addition of the pork belly wrapped around, this is pretty darn close to the ones you find near Rome. It was a hit at our party, and we will definitely be making this again.
This was amazing! I followed the recipe but forgot the fennel seeds… Which I’m sure would have been perfect. I will be making this again and again!!
WOW…. Just WOW.
Great recipe. Easy to make and everyone enjoyed it. Next time I think it I will add some filling and garlic.
I think the quality of the pork matters greatly for this dish. I purchased a “boneless” pork shoulder roast but it turned out to have an odd bone (probably shoulder blade) that made having a nice long piece of meat to roll up difficult. It worked out OK and the stuffing stayed in long enough to truss the works with 5 pieces of string. It cooked well and was just as advertised by Chef John: not soaking in meat juices but still moist. I’ll try again with a better cut of meat and hopefully will award the result with the full five stars it deserves!
I made this roast for a wine dinner we hos5 every year. OMG is all I can say. Everyone loved it . So tender and juicy. I followed the recipe but did have to tweet times as I made a 6 1/2 lb. roast. I had the butcher butterfly for me (he called it a shoulder boneless rump)and added all the fresh herbs, oil etc. and dit it the day before so it could air dry in the refridge over night. So I cooked for 45 minutes at 450. And then cooked for about 2 hours more. Then let it rest for 15-20 minutes. Delicious! Along wit his the vegetable sides I also made focaccia bread for the first time. Wonderful. Now my family has had a taste they are requesting I make it for the next family holiday dinner. Also not a fan off the fennel so left it out!
I added the traditional layer of pork belly and the crisp, crackling bite to get into the delicious center was amazing. Otherwise, I followed Chef John’s recipe exactly. Total success, best Christmas feast ever
it was good but I would put on less pepper
Liked this use of pork shoulder, which made a fancier meal from an inexpensive cut of meat. I made it exactly as described, except I omitted the anchovy fillet from the sauce. It smelled wonderful, and I really enjoyed the flavor with this combination of spices, but some others at my table thought there was too much orange zest. My roast looked exactly like Chef John’s picture, but it was not super moist and tender, so just ok in that regard.
I always follow the recipe to the letter the first time, and this recipe doesn’t need any tweaking . I was so proud of myself! The video was very helpful in teaching technique. I loved it!
The hubby really liked this and said 4 stars. He said add mashed potatoes and gravy and this would be a 5 star meal! Great recipe! Thank you
I made this for Christmas Eve last year and it was a huge hit. My sister, who is a chef said it was amazing, and i totally agree. I had the butcher fillet the meat for me. It was so elegant looking and so delicious. I highly recommend this.
I thought that this was just ok. I think that I just didn’t like this cut of pork. It was just too fatty for me. If I make again I would maybe try a pork tenderloin instead. If you watch the video he states to be generous with the seasonings and you really need too use a lot of it for a good taste.
I loved this recipe and will make it again. I was a little unsure of butterflying as I had never done that to a roast before. I started cutting and it opened like a book! I thought i would fall apart but it held its integrity and sliced beautifully.
This was very good. I made no changes. Next time though I will get my shoulder blade roast from a higher end store since the one I got from Walmart was almost cut in half. It wasn’t obvious until I took the netting off. I made it work and it tasted amazing!
I am a chef John fan. Have made several of his recipes and have never been disappointed. The cooking instructions were perfect. I omitted some ingredients (I don’t have fennel seed) and added some and I think it was fabulous. I had made chef Johns butternut squash soup earlier in the day (YUM) and had leftover fresh sage. I used olive oil, seasoned panko (just a dusting), Rosemary, garlic powder, fresh sage, prosciutto, and Parmesan reggiano for the filling. Rolled it up and lightly coated the top with the same and put strips of prosciutto on top. I think it was one of the best dishes I ever made.
Good, but not great, and yet, I’m curious enough that I’ll probably try it again. I used a lovely pork shoulder from a good butcher; probably should have roasted it fat-side-up. I was hoping to attain that delicious simplicity that is a signature of Italian dishes, but found the seasoning too mild.
Amazing!!! Just made this for Christmas dinner for my in laws. I looked like a cooking super star! Everyone was raving about how tender and tasty the pork was even though they never heard of porchetta before. I purchased a 6 pound pork roast and had the butcher butterfly the meat for me. The seasoning and flavors were perfect even though I forgot the orange zest. I did make a thin pan sauce from the drippings & served the pork with sautéed apples (also, from AR), twice baked potato casserole (also, from AR), steamed broccoli & say to green beans. A must make again, thank you very much chef John.
What a delight this recipe was, though I did cheat and had our butcher butterfly the meat. Added minced onions to the rub mixture and let it sit in the fridge for 2 days to dry-age. NOTE: It’s important to the final dish to let the roast “rest” the appropriate amount of time after you pull it so the juices have a chance to absorb back into the meat. Glad I went ahead and made the vinegar sauce as it gave the roast that little something extra! Served with Amatriciana, also from AR, as the “primo or first course” of our dinner party. Rave reviews all around! Thank you Chef John.