Mandela Cocores

The first time I tasted Porchetta was at this Brooklyn sandwich shop Zito's (they sadly are now closed). Hands down one of the best sandwiches I have ever had (more on this later. I will have a post about that sandwich). Anyways I was seeking to recreate the sandwich when I discovered its slightly a bigger project than I thought and its a roast.

Porchetta is a typical dish in Central Italy. To make Porchetta, a pig is skinned, deboned and then carefully layered—stuffing, meat, fat, skin—and finally rolled up, spitted and roasted over a wood fire.

Since I am not in the market to roast a whole pig, the next best thing is pork loin rolled up in pork belly. You could ask your butcher for a customized order to get the loin and belly still attached. I did spend a good 30 minutes with my butcher making sure I had the right size pork belly to wrap around the loin

To create your Porchetta you need to prep everything the day before you cook it. Properly season pork and then start rolling.

The results will be amazing! The meat will be golden in color, with odor of aromatic spices; the taste is mouth-watering, savory and very tender. The meat is delicious, but the fat is insane and the crust of the skin is perfectly crisp offering up a variety of textures as well as flavors.

1 3-4 pound pork belly, skin on, rectangle big enough to wrap around pork loin (butcher can customize this for you)
1 2-3 pound boneless, center-cut pork loin
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 lemon, zested
Kosher salt

Set belly skin side up. Using a knife, poke deep holes about 1/4 inch through the skin all over belly.
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