In a recent workshop, we de-boned the middle of a Porcelet de Lait pig from St. Canut Farms via D’Artagnan. We butterflied the loin and cut a pocket into the belly. We dusted the belly bones and the inside of the pocket with Activa RM and set the bones inside the pocket. Then we scored the inside of the pork and rubbed it with lime pickle pesto. We rolled and tied the porchetta and wrapped it in plastic wrap. We refrigerated it overnight. This allowed the marinade to penetrate and the Activa to bond the bones in place. The following day, we trimmed off the mini-porchettas and reserved them for another occasion. We put the porchetta roast on a rack set inside a sheet pan. We seasoned it with salt and roasted it in a 375°F convection oven for 2 hours, until the skin transformed into a deep mahogany crackling. As it roasted, we rotated the pan and turned the porchetta on the rack to ensure uniform browning. For the last 15 minutes, we increased the heat to 425°F convection to give it that perfectly crunchy finish. We removed it from the oven, let it rest for 30 minutes, uncovered, and sliced our chops.
Since this was our first go at the porchetta chops, we now have the process and a number of places to improve. We knew immediately that next time we will cut individual pockets for the bones so we can turn the whole middle into chops. As we were analyzing our results and possible improvements, Tony Maws reminded us of Kenji’s porchetta technique. He has an incredible post on his process for making belly-chetta. He uses a baking powder and salt rub on the skin to denature proteins and promote browning. We developed a similar process for roasted chicken wings that you can find in Maximum Flavor. We will brush the exterior of the skin with our blend of baking soda, egg white, and salt. And like us, he likes to deep fry large cuts of meat for uniform, efficient browning.
Our plan for the next porchetta is to focus on the chops. We will make a whole porchetta with evenly spaced bones and cut it into individual chops. Then, we will wrap each bone in cheesecloth and vacuum seal them individually. We will cook the chops for 24 hours at 57°C and then cool the individual chops down until we are ready to eat. Then we will open the bags and put the porchetta juices in a small pot to warm. We will pat dry the chop and deep fry them. The skin will brown and crackle and the meat will warm through. If the skin is ready before the meat is hot enough, we can put them on a rack in a 250°F oven to continue warming while preserving that crunchy exterior. The only question now is what to serve alongside. And in case anyone is wondering, the reason why we didn’t french the bones is because when you cook them this way, they are absolutely delicious. Why waste the meat?
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