De-boned, rolled, stuffed and seasoned pork belly, tied up and roasted until a burnished golden crackling encasing the succulent perfumed interior. That is porchetta and we LOVE porchetta. So much so that we want you to have access to it in as many ways as we can imagine. Sit down in our restaurants and order a perfectly roasted slice. Or take that slice home, or stay at home and we’ll bring it to you. Or we’ll bring you a whole hot porchetta to slice yourself from our 'Sunday' Roast menu. Or a cold one, ready for your oven. Or we’ll give you the belly, the seasonings and stuffings and you can muddle your own way through! Safe to say, however it suits, we really want to share porchetta with you!

Perhaps it comes from our market position as a ‘western’ concept in Hong Kong. The love of roast pork is strong here in the 852, from a hole-in-the-wall slinging astoundingly good BBQ pork in styrofoam clamshells, to the swankiest banquette hall serving slices cut to order by a white-gloved craftsman, we love it all. Roast pork is so delicious that it has conquered most of the world, and so a western iteration of the dish was a no-brainer for us.

Rubbed in (copious amounts of) salt, rolled up concealing classic Italian aromats: garlic, thyme, fennel, then roasted until blistered, bronzed and beautiful, the description may have you anticipating a herculean feat of culinary skill. But truth be told, thanks to our oh-so-helpful butchers, all that’s needed is a little anointing, a little seasoning and a warmed and welcoming oven. Carry on reading for slightly more detailed instructions, but really, it’s child’s play! 

Porchetta

Ingredients

A 1.5 kg Porchetta
A large handful of sea salt
100ml of olive oil

Method

1. Dry the porchetta

Porchetta is nothing without a seriously good crackling encasing it. And in order for the skin to bubble and blister as it must it needs to be dry. And we mean really dry, a quick dab with a paper towel will not do. To achieve this, unwrap the porchetta, stand it on a rack above a tray and leave it uncovered in the fridge for at least 12 hours. The temperature keeps it fresh, and fan in your fridge works to pull out all the moisture.

2. Bring to room temperature

For even, perfectly cooked pork, the porchetta must come to room temperature before going into the oven. In an oven, the heat goes from the outside to the center, so a fridge-cold piece of meat will be overcooked on the outside or underdone in the middle. Stand it on the bench for an hour or so.

3. Prepare the skin

In the mean time, preheat the oven to 165°C. Rub the skin with olive oil and salt, Some will stick, some will fall off, don’t worry too much about it.

4. Roast at 165°C for 1.5 hours

On a wire rack or trivet roast your porchetta for an hour and a half rotating it every 20 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, move onto the next step when the internal temperature reaches 45°C, otherwise, just go by time.

5. Finish at 200°C for 15-20 minutes

Turn the heat up to 200°C and roast for 15-20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 56°C. Keep an eye on the oven for this step, if the skin looks like it’s getting too dark, cover it with foil and finish the cooking time. 

6. Rest and serve

Remove from the oven and leave to rest uncovered in a warm spot for 30 minutes before slicing into generous rounds. Serve on a plate with polenta, braised cabbage or any roast sides you like, or squash it into soft rolls as per our porchetta sandwich recipe.