This is it...this is the pork roast I just can't ever get enough of.  I like it served warm as a dinner entree, I like it room
temperature on a piece of Italian bread with sharp provolone and garlicky broccoli rabe, i like it cold sliced thin, I
just love this glorious Italian roast pork known as porchetta.  The most traditional of porchetta is it's definition: a
whole suckling pig spit roasted over wood or coal fire, only seasoned with rosemary, olive oil, fennel seeds, garlic,
and lots of salt and pepper.  The "other" porchetta is a semi-lean cut of pork, that is boned, then highly seasoned
with all the same ingredients as the suckling pig, but then it's rolled, tied and liberally seasoned on the outisde
with more (LOTS) of salt and pepper, olive oil, maybe a little white wine.  It is left to "cure" overnight which turns
the texture of the meat into more of a cold cut ham texture.  Since suckling pigs on a spit rotisserie are not very
easy to come by, I've always made the rolled cured version. As will all Italian cooking, flavors are balanced, with
one or two coming to the forefront of the taste profile.  The rosemary and fennel permeate the pork, blending with
the fat and natural juices to almost self baste this dish.  Garlic is not, (nor ever should) over used here, but you
certainly can taste it's earthy goodness.  Common mistake many cooks make when using garlic which will cook
inside a roast, is using too much, or chopping it too thick.  No matter how long you cook it, it retains much of that
raw flavor.  So, you will see how only 1 1/2 cloves will flavor this 5 lb. piece of meat.

Back in January, my little story on Porchetta was chosen as one of the Saveur 100, Saveur Magazine's annual
issue with 100 food items which are hip, the best, or a favorite.  You can click onto this link and find my story
which is on pg. 56, it's the 58th one of Saveur's 100 foodie items for 2010. 
http://www.zinio.com/reader.jsp?issue=416111389&o=int&prev=sub

That was a proud moment for me.  I truly am passionate about everything I cook, but this is a treasured recipe.
Buy yourself a bone in Pork Sirloin Roast, about a 5 lb. piece..This when finished will serve a group of 4-6. You
can butcher this yourself (I love doing that,) or have the store bone it and flatten out the meat after trimming some
excess fat off of it.  There is a perfect meat to fat ration, no, i don't have that numerical value, but there is
enough fat on it to keep the meat moist and flavorful, and not too much which would turn it greasy and un-
pleasant. 
  Just the right amounts of fat and meat in this cut.  Here's
the difficult part, you must now butcher this piece of meat.  With your fingers, feel around the bone and with a sharp
chef's knife, cut the bone out.  You will be left with a unshapely piece of pork.  At it's thickest parts, butterfly as much
as you can, you should have a thickness of almost equal 1 inch pork.  If this is too difficult (don't be daunted by this
task, you can always buy the meat and have it boned and butterflied by the meat dept. or your butcher, but trying it
on your own only adds to the primal satisfaction of you really prepping the whole thing) pound the meat out to a 1 "
thickness. 


Now, rub the meat surface with some extra virgin olive oil, then liberally sprinkle 1 tsp. of fresh ground black
pepper, 1 1/2 tsp. of kosher salt, the chopped leaves of one sprig of FRESH(see what it says...FRESH, do
not substitute dried rosemary, you will ruin the dish...) rosemary, 1 1/2 cloves of thinly sliced garlic, and
1 1/2 tsp. of fennel seeds.  This is the flavor of this dish.  Herbal, seasoned, and with a hint of garlic.  Roll
this up jelly roll style as tight as you can get it, place it in a pan and season the outside with olive oil, 1  tbs
of kosher salt and 1 tsp. cracked black pepper.  Cover and refrigerate over night.  This essentially will some-
what cure the meat so when it's served it will have the texture of a good cold cut.


Ok, alarm clock goes off and it is the next day.  Just don't let it sit in the salt raw for more than 12 hours.
Heat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Tie the roast tightly with kitchen twine and place into a cook heavy
roasting pan.  Pour a little more olive oil over it and a splash of white wine.  Tuck a sprig of fresh
rosemary between the string and the meat.  Now into the oven it goes and let this cook for 1 1/2 hrs.

  It should be at this point you are
laughing at your PC screen...my kitchen twine was nowhere to be found...i had to use string...buy good kitchen
twine...much easier....a food obsession faux pax, but..no time to run to the store and buy the twine...o well...

Remove the roast after 1 1/4-1/2 hrs and cover with Aluminum foil..let it rest for 1/2 hour before slicing it.
  Most times you make a roast, you would use
those caramelized bits at the bottom and the drippings to make a tasty and tremendous jus or gravy...in this
recipe, the salt which concentrates in the pan during the roasting is way too strong to make a gravy or jus from.
Instead, chop 1 lb. of Cremini mushrooms, in a pan with some olive oil, saute' the cremini for 20 minutes, then
salt them, add 1 thinly sliced clove of garlic, then 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary.  When fragrant (most  perfect
indicator for a cook..when you smell the garlic and rosemary it's ready) add a splash of Chianti.  Let this cook
down for another 5 minutes and this is the accompaniment to the porchetta.  A drizzle of olive oil and a side of
sauteed spinach with raisin, garlic, pignoli and a little anchovy are your platter companions. 


On a large platter, place the sliced porchetta in the center, mushrooms on one side, spinach on the other..a drizzle of olive oil
over the meat, and a garnish of fresh rosemary sprigs....another cook's note. always garnish with something that is
part of the dish you've cooked.



With any luck  you will have some leftover Porchetta...make a sangwich(italian-american for sandwich )
with some leftover spinach, slices of Auricchio Provolone and Porchetta on good Italian seeded bread.
You may like that even better than the sliced roast the day before...or just as much...I can't get enough
of it, and you will feel the same way.  Viva La Bella Porchetta!!!