Meat Market

Colin Fassnidge and Anthony Puharich pop the kettle on and debate the ins and outs of a cracking, crackling porchetta.

Porchetta from the chef and butcher.

C: When I worked with Gordon Ramsay, we did porchettas every day and it was a lot of work. But it’s easy enough at home – porchetta is great. For me, I think you should stuff it with a great stuffing. A: Yeah, it’s all about the stuffing. C: So my idea for the stuffing is – we’ll talk about the crackling later; I already have so much to do, but that’s my department, too. A: What’s my department, then? C: Selling meat to get the best crackling ever! As Whitney said, crack is whack!

A: We’ll dedicate this to Whitney Houston. But why are you talking about crackling? You’re meant to start with the stuffing!

C: Fine. We’re going to get some fat in there. So a pork sausage meat. A: Yeah, I like that for stuffing. C: Alright, I’m talking. So I wanted to go a bit old school and put some sundried tomatoes in there, fennel seeds, sage.

A: That’s the Italian flag right there! Red, white and green.

C: By the time it cooks it’s Irish – it turns a bit orange! Then I want to put some cavolo nero in there for veg. So when you cut it, it’s about the wow.

A: We have the Italian flag by the Irish. The best cut for porchetta is definitely the belly. Nice and fatty. Ask your butcher to score the skin to make it nice and crackly. You need a bit of salt and a bit of olive oil.

C: The thing about crackling is ideally you want to buy the belly a few days before you’re going to use it. You want to leave it in the fridge and for the skin to dry out.

A: Yes, that’s good, but if you’ve left it too late, what you can do is boil the kettle – have a cup of tea – and pour the hot water over the skin so it blisters. C: Has my Croatian grandmother arrived? A: What happens is the hot water and steam send the skin into shock.

C: That’s just sent me into shock. I’m trying to draw the moisture out and this guy is enjoying a cup of tea with the pig! A: Listen to the butcher this time. C: No, listen to the chef. The pig chef!

PORCHETTA WITH SAGE & FENNEL STUFFING SERVES 12-14

For best crackling, begin this recipe 1 day ahead. You will need butcher’s twine.

1 bunch cavolo nero, trimmed,

stalks removed 550g day-old sourdough loaf, crusts

removed, coarsely torn 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked

1/ 2 bunch sage leaves, leaves picked 2 tsp toasted fennel seeds, crushed 1 tsp ground allspice 70g sundried tomatoes, drained

2/ 3 cup (160ml) extra virgin olive oil 400g pork and fennel sausages,

casings removed 3kg piece of boneless pork belly,

trimmed

To make the stuffing, blanch cavolo nero in a saucepan of boiling water and refresh in iced water. Drain well and chop. Place sourdough, cavolo nero, herbs, spices, tomatoes and olive oil in a food processor and whiz until well combined. Place in a large bowl with the sausage mince and season. Using your hands, mix until combined. Chill until required.

Lay pork belly out, skin-side down, and butterfly the meat from the centre outwards on one side to separate meat from the skin without cutting all the way through, then open out to 1 large piece. Season meat and spread evenly with stuffing. Roll into a log so the skin is over the top and not rolled into the centre of the porchetta. Cut 8 pieces of butcher’s twine long enough to tie around the pork and lay them at even intervals on a bench. Place the rolled pork onto the twine and tie a knot in each to firmly secure the pork. Season skin with salt and leave uncovered in the fridge overnight or for up to 24 hours.

Preheat a fan-forced oven to 250°C. Place a wire rack inside a roasting tray and place porchetta on the rack with the seam underneath, drizzle with olive oil and season all over with fine cooking salt. Roast for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 180°C and roast for a further 1 hour 25 minutes or until skin is crackling and meat is cooked. Remove from oven and rest porchetta for 15 minutes before carving.

BUTCHER’S CUT PORK BELLY

A boneless cut taken from the underside of a pig, pork belly is highly sought after for its generous layer of flavoursome fat. Perfect crackling requires low skin moisture and a high oven temperature. The dry outer skin becomes crisp and golden when roasted initially in a hot oven yielding tender, juicy meat beneath.