Erica De Mane

A porchetta sandwich truck in the Abruzzi, just opening for business.

From time to time I stop into Porchetta, a little caffè in the East Village, especially in cooler weather, for their (what else?) porchetta. In my opinion porchetta is the best Italian street food there is, not counting the spleen and ricotta sandwiches from Palermo that I love so much. The East Village version of porchetta is not exactly the same as in Italy, where it’s usually distributed in trucks fitted with wood-burning ovens. Those rather plain white trucks  wheel up to religious festivals and outdoor markets, where people line up for the hot, greasy, herby, salty pork sandwiches, with crackling fat and soft, pully meat. The real Italian thing is usually made from a whole roasted hog, or a boned and rolled shoulder cut, or fresh ham with the skin left on.

Porchetta the caffè doesn’t have a wood-burning oven, and they make their porchetta with a boned pork loin wrapped in pork belly instead of the tougher shoulder cut. But they use all the traditional seasonings, which include fennel seeds (and, I believe, wild fennel pollen too), rosemary, thyme, sage, garlic, red wine (I think), and lots of salt and black pepper. A real Italian porchetta is slow-roasted until the fat is crisp and the color of shellac and the meat is falling-off-the-bone tender. The porchetta at Porchetta, being a tender cut of meat to begin with, doesn’t need hours of roasting. They roast it just until it’s perfectly tender, so it remains very juicy and the pork belly turns to fatty crackling. All in all, it’s an amazing accomplishment for a compromise. So if you want a great porchetta sandwich (or porchetta plate with salad and vegetables) you really should stop by there.The aroma from the front door will draw you right in anyway. You won’t be able to resist. They’re at 110 East 7th Street.

Since my return visit to Porchetta, I’ve been attempting to create my own version of this Italian roast in my own kitchen. I think it finally came out really nice. I certainly got the aroma down. Instead of the pork belly the caffè uses, I chose to wrap my pork loin in pancetta. I butterflied the pork loin and then made a paste out of fennel seeds, black pepper, and all the usual herbs plus vino and olio. I added juniper berries and just a touch of smoked pimenton to capture a subtle woodsy taste, but not so much that it tastes like liquid smoke. The result is less stringy and less fatty than the Italian version but more tender, which is what you’re going to get with a pork loin. But I really love the flavor. I like serving it sliced over a chicory or frisée salad dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

Quickie Porchetta

(Serves 6)

1 approximately 2½-pound boneless pork loin with the fat left on, butterflied (if you don’t know how to buterfly it, you can ask your butcher to do it for you)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1½ teaspoons black peppercorns
4 juniper berries
4 garlic cloves, peeled
8 large sprigs rosemary
12 sage leaves
A branch of thyme
Salt
¼ teaspoon smoked Spanish pimenton (smoked red paprika)
Extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup dry red wine
¼ pound pancetta, very thinly sliced

Place the fennel seeds, peppercorns, and juniper berries in a mortar and pestle (or a spice grinder), and grind roughly. Transfer to a small bowl.

Slice the garlic cloves very thinly. Stem all the herbs, and give the leaves a rough chop. Add the garlic and herbs to the ground spices. Add a good amount of salt, the smoked pimenton, about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and the red wine. Mix everything well.

Lay the pork out flat, fat side down. Spread the herb and spice mixture all over the meat, saving some to rub over the outside.

Roll up the pork. Lay the pancetta slices over the roll, and tie it up with kitchen string in about 5 rings. Rub the remaining spice and herb mix over the pork. Cover it with plastic wrap, and let it marinate in the refrigerator for about 3 hours (or overnight). Take the pork from the refrigerator about an hour before you plan to cook it.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Choose a large ovenproof sauté pan or low-sided casserole big enough to hold the pork. Turn the heat to medium high. When the pan is hot, put the pork in it, and brown the pork well all around, seasoning it with a bit of extra salt as you turn it.

Transfer the pork to the oven, and roast it until it’s just tender, about 35 to 40 minutes or so. Check the temperature with a meat thermometer. You want it to be 130 to 135 degrees at the center.

Take the pork from the oven, and let it rest for about 15 minutes before slicing.  To make a little pan sauce, pour off about half  of the fat from the pan. Add a big  splash of red wine, and boil it for a few moments. Strain and pour this over the pork slices. Serve hot or warm.