How to Make a Proper Roasted Porchetta: A Two-Day Holiday Project

Chef Chris Cosentino walks through a full porchetta from raw pork belly to plated dish in this five-minute video. The process spans two days -- a 24-hour brine followed by seasoning, rolling, trussing, and a slow roast that finishes at high heat for a shattering crispy skin. He films the entire thing in his home kitchen, wearing his signature "OFFAL!" t-shirt, working on a wide butcher-block counter with a dark honeycomb tile backsplash behind him.

Day One: The Brine

Cosentino starts with a full skin-on pork belly laid out on his cutting board alongside small bowls of whole spices, fresh herbs, and aromatics. He toasts the spices dry in a pot -- no fat, no oil -- then adds fresh herbs, crumbled bay leaves, a split serrano pepper, and a halved head of garlic. Pink curing salt goes in to keep the meat rosy after cooking. Once the liquid comes to a boil and the aromatics bloom, he kills the heat and pours the hot brine directly over ice to cool it fast. The pork belly goes into the brine, weighed down to stay submerged, and sits in the fridge for 24 hours.

Day Two: The Rub and Roll

After pulling the belly from the brine, he pats the skin dry and sets it aside to air dry while he builds the rub. In a food processor, he combines citrus peel (to cut the richness), white wine, olive oil, and a large pile of aromatic herbs -- rosemary, thyme, and others visible in the bowl alongside bright orange citrus rings and whole garlic cloves. He saves the herb stems for the roasting pan later.

The belly gets scored in a crosshatch pattern on the skin side. This serves two purposes: it helps render the thick fat cap and lets the marinade penetrate deeper. Cosentino spreads the herb paste across the flesh side, then rolls the belly into a tight cylinder. The trussing technique is methodical -- he sets a temporary tie in the center, then works outward using a thumb-finger-loop method, pulling the twine tight at each interval to create an even, compact roll. The finished porchetta on the cutting board looks like a pale, neatly wrapped cylinder about the length of his forearm.

The Roast

The rolled porchetta goes into a Hestan oval roaster. In the base of the pan, Cosentino lays a bed of those reserved herb stems and additional garlic -- visible through the roasting rack as a tangle of green and brown underneath the meat. He notes that space between the meat and the pan matters; air needs to flow around the roast.

The oven starts at 375 degrees. The porchetta roasts low and slow for about three hours. During that time, the rendering fat effectively confits the interior meat, making it tender throughout. The frame of the porchetta inside the oven shows the skin already taking on deep color, the roast sitting elevated on the rack with the pan juices collecting below.

For the final 15 minutes, he cranks the oven to 450 degrees. This is what produces the crackling skin. When he pulls it out, the exterior is a deep mahogany brown, visibly crackled and blistered. He presses on the skin and you can hear the crunch. The crosshatch scoring has opened up, revealing golden rendered fat beneath.

The Sides: Salsa Verde and Chicory Salad

While the porchetta rests, Cosentino builds two accompaniments designed to balance the richness of the pork.

First, a salsa verde made from broccoli rabe. He processes the greens into a chunky, loose sauce with just enough olive oil to bring it together. The goal is bitterness -- a deliberate counterpoint to the fatty meat.

Second, a chicory salad dressed with pickled jardiniere vegetables: cauliflower, carrots, jalapenos, and celery. The vinaigrette uses some of the pickling vinegar, kept light on oil since the pork already brings plenty of fat to the plate.

Plating

Cosentino removes the twine, collecting any crispy skin fragments that break off into a mixing bowl to use as cracklins on the plate. He slices the porchetta into thick rounds -- the cross-section shows a spiral of tender meat surrounded by a ring of rendered fat capped with that dark, brittle skin. The final plate gets built with sliced porchetta, a pile of the dressed chicory salad, a spoonful of the broccoli rabe salsa verde, and scattered cracklins on top.

Key Takeaways

• Start two days before serving. The 24-hour brine with pink salt keeps the pork rosy and seasons it throughout.
• Toast spices dry before adding them to the brine. Bloom the hot brine over ice to cool it quickly and safely.
• Score the skin in a crosshatch pattern to help the fat render and the seasoning penetrate.
• Save herb stems for the roasting pan bed. They add flavor and keep the meat elevated.
• Roast low at 375 for about three hours, then finish at 450 for 15 minutes to crisp the skin.
• Pair the rich pork with bitter and acidic sides. Broccoli rabe salsa verde and pickled vegetable salad both work to cut through the fat.
• Collect any broken skin pieces as cracklins for the plate. They add texture and nothing goes to waste.