Faux Porchetta, redux

I posted recently about what I've been cooking in the last month and gave tantalizing hints about a "Faux Porchetta." I did it again tonight. I love the flavors. The garlic, lemon, and fennel smell so good while roasting and tastes so amazing.

As before, I follow the idea presented in the New York Times (Click here) but because there are only two of us in this house, I didn't do an entire pork belly and loin. That's something for a party. For us, it is the weekend. Nice, but not a party.

Is it possible to enjoy the goodness without the excess? YES!

From the New York Times as published:

Ingredients:

1 (7- to 8-pound) bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder roast, or a 6- to 7-pound boneless roast, fat trimmed to 1/4-inch thickness
¼ cup chopped fennel fronds
¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves
5 garlic cloves, grated or mashed to a paste
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 ½ tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fennel seed
¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

Score skin and fat all over pork, taking care not to cut down to the meat.
1. In a food processor or mortar and pestle, combine fennel fronds, rosemary, sage, garlic, lemon zest, salt, fennel seed, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Pour in oil. Pulse or mash until it forms a paste. Rub all over pork. If using a boneless roast, tie with kitchen string at 2-inch intervals. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 6 hours and preferably overnight.
2. Remove pork from refrigerator 1 to 2 hours before you want to cook it. Heat oven to 450°F degrees. Transfer pork to a rimmed baking sheet and roast 35 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325°F degrees and cook an additional 2 hours 45 minutes to 4 hours, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads 180°F degrees, which will give you sliceable, tender meat. (Bone-in roasts will take longer than boneless ones.)
3. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest 15 to 30 minutes before serving. Make sure everyone gets some of the cracklings.

Here are my changes:

I use about half to a third of the meat called for. The belly and the shoulder piece should weigh about the same, although the shoulder piece can weigh more if it's thicker. I use a piece of pork belly, skin on. (If possible - I have farmer friends so I can get it. Ask your best butcher friend if you don't have farmer friends. If you can't get skin on belly, just go with what you can get.) I use a slice of pork shoulder (boneless) about as big as the piece of belly, or a bit larger (larger in thickness is fine, but it's best if they have the same surface area when laid one on top of the other). I use all the herbs and spices as called for. I use almost a pound of homemade bacon (but you can use good stuff you buy, really). Yes, I wrapped it in bacon.

I slather all the pork with the ground up spice and herb and oil. I lay the belly skin side down on a sheet tray, place the slice of shoulder on the belly, and then drape the bacon over it all. I line the bacon up so the ends are even on one side, then trim the excess off on the other side. Then I tie it all up. First, around the whole loaf twice lengthwise (around the belly piece, and around the shoulder piece), then around the loaf circumferentially over each slice of bacon. Nice and tighty whitey.

It takes much less time to cook than a 6-7 pound roast, so get out your probe thermometer.

The initial roast at 450°F takes only 20 minutes. After roasting at 325°F to 170-180°F internal (a 2-3 pound combo takes about 2 hours), let it rest for 15-20 minutes, remove the string (you don't want to serve string to yourself or partner or guest, whomever, ever!). Slice. Plate. Enjoy.

This is freaking good.