Luke Powell’s porchetta recipe
(Pictured above)
Traditionally porchetta refers to a whole deboned pig that’s been rolled, stuffed, trussed and roasted. Since you’d need an army to get through the thing, a few variations have been popularised to make it much more manageable. The most common variation consists of half a deboned middle of the pig (the belly and the loin cuts) rolled and trussed to form a large cylinder. I have always found this a tricky cut to cook – while the belly is forgiving, the loin often ends up dry. Making a porchetta with only the belly gives a more consistent and, to my mind, better result.
Start this recipe a day ahead so the skin has time to dry out, and you’ll need to start roasting about 10 hours before you want to eat. You’ll also need some butcher’s twine for trussing.
Serves 8-10
1 boneless, skin-on pork belly, about 3kg
35g fine salt
Olive oil, for drizzling
Extra virgin olive oil, to serve
For the porchetta seasoning
1 head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
5 fresh bay leaves
1 handful of picked rosemary leaves
3 tbsp toasted fennel seeds
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
2 tbsp flaky salt
200ml olive oil
1. For the porchetta seasoning, blend or crush all the ingredients with a mortar and pestle to form a rustic paste.
2. Place the pork belly on a large chopping board, skin side down, with one of the long edges facing you. Taking extreme care, and using a sharp knife held parallel to the bench, score the entire length of the side of the belly that’s facing you from end to end, trying to keep the incision in the centre of the flesh. The idea is to create a flap that you will open out. Deepen the cut in long, even strokes to open up the piece of meat, stopping just before you get to the other side. Open out the cut flap like a book.
3. Rub the garlic and herb paste all over the exposed meat, then roll up the belly like a swiss roll, starting from the section you opened out and continuing until the skin is all on the outside.
4. Truss the pork, starting from the middle of the roll and using individual loops. I use a simple butcher’s knot, which acts like a slipknot and holds its place once it’s tightened. Make sure the knots are sturdy to prevent the pork unravelling during cooking. Rub the porchetta all over with the salt and refrigerate overnight, uncovered, to dry out.
5. The next day, preheat the oven to 70C. Brush the excess salt from the porchetta, then place it on a wire rack over a shallow roasting tin. Gently roast the pork for 10 hours. When you take it out of the oven it will look dry and dusty on the skin and the ends will look slightly jerky-like; do not fear, the inside will be juicy and tender.
6. Remove the porchetta from the oven and increase the temperature to 220C. (If you’re not ready to serve, you can keep the pork at room temperature for up to four hours before you finish roasting it at the higher temperature.) Rub olive oil all over the skin, then return the porchetta to the oven and roast until the skin is puffed and crisp, about 30 minutes. The beauty of this method is that the pork will definitely be cooked on the inside, so this stage is entirely about crisping the skin. If the skin isn’t crisp and hasn’t coloured sufficiently after 30 minutes, roast the porchetta for a further 10 minutes, keeping a close eye on it.
7. Remove the porchetta from the oven, taking extreme care since hot rendered fat may have accumulated in the roasting tin. Let the pork rest for 30 minutes.
8. With a sharp knife or scissors, cut the twine and gently remove it. Slice the porchetta into rounds using a serrated knife. (If the scraggly ends are too dry to eat, discard them.) Taste a slice to check the seasoning and season with salt if needed. Arrange the slices on a hot dish or plate. Drizzle with some good quality extra virgin olive oil right before serving.
Potato mash and gravy
This mashed potato method has stuck with me since I learned it during a brief stint at the Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay in Sydney, where it was served alongside their famed snapper pie. The recipe is similar to the one made famous by Joël Robuchon, which notoriously features more butter than potato.
Getting this right requires the cook to work quickly so the potatoes don’t cool down and the starch isn’t overworked, which can make the potatoes gluey. The potatoes are baked rather than boiled to prevent them becoming waterlogged, then the flesh is passed through a mouli or potato ricer, seasoned and combined with a lot of cream and butter (not as much as Robuchon’s version, but a lot) before being passed through a drum sieve. It’s quite an elaborate preparation, but the result is smooth, satiny and luxurious. (If you don’t have a drum sieve, it’s OK to skip this step.)
The gravy is based on a classic velouté or espagnole sauce but is made with a brown chicken stock and a brown roux, with the butter replaced by chicken fat, and a little sprinkle of MSG.
Serves 4-6
2kg scrubbed floury potatoes, such as desiree, skin on
250ml single cream, plus extra as needed
200g unsalted butter, at room temperature
For the gravy
500ml chicken stock
25g chicken fat
25g plain flour
Freshly ground white pepper, to taste
Monosodium glutamate (MSG), to taste
1. To make the gravy, pour the chicken stock into a saucepan and bring it to the boil. Remove from the heat and cover with a lid to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, put the chicken fat and flour into a saucepan. Slowly cook over low heat, stirring, until the flour takes on a dark brown colour. Be daring with this – you don’t want it burnt but it should start to smell like the unpopped kernels in a box of popcorn.
3. Once the flour is nice and dark, gradually ladle in the stock (be careful, it could splutter), whisking rapidly after each addition to prevent lumps. Once all the stock is incorporated, bring the gravy to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until it coats the back of a spoon relatively thickly and there’s no residual taste of flour. (You don’t want to make glue, so use your judgment here.) Season to taste with salt, white pepper and a pinch of MSG. (The gravy can now be cooled, kept in the fridge for up to a week and reheated later, although you may need to add some more stock to loosen it, which will require tasting and re-seasoning.) If you’re planning to serve the gravy straight away, keep it hot and cover the surface directly with baking paper to prevent a skin forming.
4. Preheat the oven to 180C. Put the potatoes in a roasting tin and bake until tender, about 40 to 60 minutes (you should be able to insert and withdraw a paring knife easily).
5. Towards the end of the cooking time, pour the cream into a large saucepan and gently heat until it’s hot (don’t let it boil). Keep on low heat.
6. Remove the potatoes from the oven and, holding them with a clean tea towel, carefully cut them in half. Scoop the flesh into a mouli or potato ricer, taking care not to take any burnished skin with it. Pass the potatoes into the hot cream, keeping the heat on low.
7. Gently stir in the butter, bit by bit, until it’s all incorporated, then season well with fine salt. (I find it loses some saltiness after the second passing, so you can go heavy here, or at least be prepared to adjust it later.) If you think the texture could be creamier, stir in some extra cream.
8. Set a drum sieve over a bowl and quickly pass the potato puree through the sieve, using a flexible pastry card to help scrape it through the sieve. Keep the potato hot over a double boiler or, if you’re serving it straight away, transfer to a serving dish. The gravy can be served separately or ladled generously over the mash. Finish with a twist or two of freshly cracked black pepper.
Braised green beans
These beans look completely overcooked but they’re flavourful and moreish. The trick is to slowly cook them in olive oil with plenty of garlic cloves, which almost melt into a puree that coats the soft beans.
Serves 4
100ml extra virgin olive oil
6 peeled garlic cloves
½ white onion, thinly sliced
600g green beans, topped, but with the tails left on
½ bunch of dill, fronds and stalks finely chopped
Lemon juice or vinegar, to serve (optional)
1. Add the olive oil, garlic and onion to a heavy-based saucepan over low heat. Increase the heat until the garlic and onion are starting to sizzle. Cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes or until softened, making sure the garlic doesn’t colour (if it’s starting to, reduce the heat).
2. Stir the beans through the garlicky oil, season with a little salt, then cover the pan with a circle of baking paper – the aim is to let the beans cook in their own steam. Cook, stirring frequently to make sure the garlic isn’t sticking or burning, for 30 to 40 minutes or until the beans are very soft – some will have split and taken on a darker, army green colour.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Add more salt if needed, along with some freshly ground black pepper, then stir in the chopped dill. I like to serve the beans just like this, but if you feel like adding a little acid, some lemon juice or vinegar would work nicely.
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This is an edited extract from Quality Meats by Luke Powell with David Matthews, photography by Alicia Taylor. Available now from Murdoch Books, RRP A$55