The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

(Nandana) #1

Tracking down an intact single belly shouldn’t actually be
too difficult. What you want is a whole boneless, rind-on
belly with the rib meat still attached. It should weigh in at
around 12 to 15 pounds or so. Your butcher should be able
to order one for you, or if you live near a Chinatown, take a
stroll into one of the butcher shops there—most likely
they’ve got pork bellies in stock.
Once you’ve got your belly, everything else is a piece of
cake; just give yourself enough time to execute. Assembling
the porchetta itself should take no more than an hour, and
once it’s assembled, you can wrap it in plastic and store it in
the fridge for up to three days (so long as the belly was quite
fresh when you got it). It’ll actually improve with age as the
salt works its way through the meat.

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