Time to do some food magic - let's turn a humble pork belly into homemade porchetta! A true Italian favorite, cooked on your backyard smoker!
1 6-7 lb Pork belly (approximately 10" wide, 16" long, and 1 1/2" thick)
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Kosmo’s Q Cow Cover Rub
1/4 cup Finely chopped fresh fennel fronds (the leaves and tender stems)
2 Tbsp Finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbsp Finely chopped fresh thyme
2 Tbsp Finely chopped fresh sage
8 cloves garlic, minced (about 4-5 teaspoons)
Zest of one orange
Zest of one lemon
1/2 tsp Crushed red chile
2 tsp Olive oil
2 tsp Black pepper, ground medium
For this one, you want to grab the nicest looking pork belly you can find - make sure it has all the fat & flavor you want in your porchetta. Source your meats locally, if you can.
Now, having chosen a pork belly, bring it out of any packaging it came in, and rinse it well under cold water. Pat the surface dry with paper towels.
In a suitably sized bowl, mix all of the ingredients except for the belly, two tablespoons of the rub, the oil, and the pepper. This mixture is packing with flavor and will be the thing that turns a humble pork belly into a fancy Italian delicacy.
It's the final stage prior to wrapping and cooking the porchetta! Place it fat-side-up on your cutting board and use a sharp knife to carefully cut slits 1/3" deep and 3/4" apart in a cross-hatched pattern. This will allow the rub to penetrate and flavor the meat deeper, below the skin and fat. Then flip the belly over, and use a filet or paring knife to pierce all the way through the meat side of the belly about every square inch.
Spread the herb mixture evenly over the meat side of the belly, then wrap it as well as you can in plastic wrap. Place it in the fridge for 24 hours, to let the meat soak up all that herby goodness.
About 3 /12 hours before you plan to serve the porchetta, get the belly out of the refrigerator and let it come down to room temperature (30 minutes should be enough). While it is sitting, take the opportunity to set up and light your grill. You want to cook over indirect heat, at a medium temperature - around 300ºF (149ºC).
While that's heating up, grab some butcher's twine - you will need 12 pieces, each about 18" in length. Unwrap the belly from the plastic wrap, then roll it up in a jelly-roll fashion. Tie about every inch with the twine. Finally, cut the porchetta roll in two equal pieces, and coat all sides of both pieces with oil, then season with ground black pepper.
Once the smoke is rolling and the temps are holding, it's time to put the porchetta on there. Place both pieces over indirect heat, and let them cook for about 2 hours 30 minutes, or to a core temperature of 160ºF (71ºC). There's no need to flip or turn the porchetta during this time, just let the heat and smoke do their magic.
When core temp hits the target, remove the porchetta from the heat. Put it on a platter, tent loosely with foil, and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
And finally, your very own homemade porchetta is ready to slice and serve! For us, it's 1/2" thick slices, but you do whatever makes you happy.
Catch you on the next recipe!
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