Porchetta-Style Pork Roast

I come from a Ukrainian background, so pork is always a holiday staple at our family’s dinner table. And because of this, I particularly love making pork since it always reminds me of having meals at home with my family. It also helps that pork tastes amazing pretty much anyway you season it. But there are some flavors that enhance the flavors of the meat more than others, and the rosemary, sage, garlic and orange zest make quite the pairing with a Porchetta-Style Pork Roast.

I’ve been a pretty confident pork cook for a while now. I’ve already prepared these mini pork rolls from a pork shoulder stuffed with mushrooms before, but I had never actually attempted to roast a whole shoulder roll. When I was making this delicious pork shoulder roast, the idea was to have a mini version of Porchetta.

For those of you not familiar with porchetta, it’s mostly loin and possibly other parts of pig wrapped inside a pork belly, which is then roasted until the inside is amazingly tender and juicy, and the outside is crispy and crackling. It’s insanely good, and something I’ve always wanted to try doing at home. But, of course, a real porchetta feeds like 20 people, so for now I wanted a version that would be better suited for a smaller group. So Porchetta-Style Pork Roast it is.

This Porchetta-Style Pork Roast is super simple and quick to make. And the best part about this recipe, aside from how tasty it is and how simple it is to make, it’s a festive table show stopper that won’t break your bank.

I decided to substitute the loin and belly with shoulder, then rolled it with traditional porchetta spices and herbs and was so glad I did! This porchetta-style pork roast paired with roasted garlic, cranberries and tangerines for festive look and flavor resulted in one of the juiciest, most flavorful pork roasts I’ve ever had. We had it with a side of mashed potatoes the first night and the second night we used the leftovers to make sandwiches, which were mind-blowing!

Ingredients:

3 lb boneless pork shoulder roast, butterflied

2 tbsp chopped rosemary

6 cloves garlic, minced

zest from 1 orange

1 tsp dry sage or 2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

olive oil as needed

few fresh cranberries, tangerines, 2 whole garlic bulbs (halved)

cooking twine

Pat the pork dry on both sides and rub the top with a splash of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper generously, I used a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper. Then cover on top with rosemary, sage, garlic and orange zest.

Roll the porchetta-style pork roast and secure with cooking twine. Season the top of the roll with more salt and pepper and let it sit at room temperature for half an hour uncovered.

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Place the porchetta-style pork roast with garlic bulbs on a slightly oiled baking dish and drizzle everything with more olive oil.

Bake at the top of the oven for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 260 F, add cranberries, tangerines and roast for another hour. Then cook under the broiler for 7 minutes.

Let rest for 20 minutes before slicing. Serve immediately.