I love porchetta. A perfect porchetta should be moist, juicy, packed with flavours from fennel, sage, chilli flakes, garlic and other aromatics, with a crispy skin. It's normally served as a rustic dish but I wanted to see if I could also plate it in a more refined way. The porchetta here is cooked over 3 days, marinated, in sous vide, skin dried in fridge overnight then finished in oven and pan. I felt like it gave me the most consistent and reliable outcome, and also just because I have the time with other dishes that I had to get through first. You can shorten the prep time significantly by adapting the recipe. In this dish, it's paired with Jerusalem artichoke puree, and jus made from its natural juice and a kalette* salad.
* Kalette is the commercial name for kale sprouts, a cross breed between Brussel sprouts and kale. They are pretty to look and very tasty to eat. If you are from Australia, good news is that you can source them from some of the Coles stores. Do try them if you ever come across these.
Difficulty: Medium/High
Time: 3 days prep*, 1 hr cooking
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Porchetta
- 1 kg pork belly
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 5 cloves garlic
- ½ tsp salt, plus extra for salting
- 8 sage leaves
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Jerusalem Artichoke Puree
- 200g Jerusalem artichoke peeled and sliced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp cream
- salt
Kalette Salad
- 200g kalette washed and leaves pulled apart
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Jus
- 1 large shallot finely sliced
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 cup juice from the sous vide pork
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp dark soy
- 3 tsp butter
- salt
- pepper
Method
Three Days Prior
1. Toast the fennel seeds until fragrant, then pound with a mortar and pestle with the peppercorns, garlic, salt, sage and chilli to produce a rough paste. Mix through the oil.
2. Place the pork belly skin side up, use a knife to score the skin diagonally. Then flip the pork belly around to place the skin side on the chopping board, cut across the pork belly length ways between the skin and the meat all the way across to almost the end, but don't cut through. Open it like a book and rub the herb and spice mixture from step 1 thoroughly on both side of the meat. Roll the meat into a scroll and wrap the skin around it. Tie it with strings evenly across the roll to hold it in shape. Leave it to marinade in the fridge overnight.
Two Days Prior
1. Place the pork belly into a ziplock bag, cook in a sous vide bath at 64 degrees over 24 hours.
One Day Prior
1. Take the pork belly out of the ziplock bag, dry thoroughly with kitchen paper towels. Season the skin with salt. Place it on a baking rack and let it dry in the fridge overnight.
2. Resereve the pork juice from inside the sous vide bag and keep it inside the fridge. You should get approximately 1 cup of liquid.
On the Day
1. Take the pork belly out of the fridge to bring it back to room temperature.
2. Make the sauce by sautéing the sliced shallots with some oil in a saucepan until well caramelised, add 1 tbsp of honey and let it caramelise further over medium heat. Deglaze with the red wine and cook until the wine is reduced by half. Add the pork juice reserved from the night prior, the balsamic vinegar, the dark soy sauce and cook over medium heat until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2. Pass the sauce through a sieve before returning it back to the saucepan. Slowly incorporate the butter over medium heat until you get a glossy jus that just hangs at the back of your spoon. Take it off the heat, keep warm and set adie.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees. Place the pork belly in it and cook in oven for 30 minutes. Take it out, season the skin generously with salt and set aside once ready.
4. Add the peeled and sliced Jesursalem artichoke into a small pot with the chicken stock and a squeeze of lemon juice, bring to boil then simmer for about 20 minutes or until fully softned. Add the butter and cream and warm through ensuring the butter is melted. Add the Jerusalem artichoke with just enough liquid (about 1/4 cup) to a food processor to blend into a smooth puree. Set aside and keep warm.
5. Make the honey mustard dressing for the salad by adding mustard, honey, white vinegar, oil, salt and pepper into a small bowl and mix until well combined and emulsified. Taste and adjust the flavour as required. Dress the kalette generously with the dressing.
6. Heat up 3mm of oil on a cast iron pan over medium heat. Pan fry the skin of the pork belly in oil until it's crispy and golden all over. Take it out on a chopping board and let it cool down and rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing into portions.
7. Assemble by placing a slice of the porchetta on the plate, followed by Jerusalem artichoke puree, followed by the kalette salad and jus. Enjoy!
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