Name: Porchetta umbra
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 2 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h 45 min
Cuisine: Italian, Umbria
Ingredients: 2 kg skin-on pork belly, one wide rectangular piece; 700 g boneless pork shoulder or loin, trimmed into a long piece to fit the centre; 18 g fine sea salt; 6 g freshly ground black pepper; 4 cloves garlic, finely grated or minced; 20 g fresh wild fennel fronds, finely chopped; or 2 teaspoons lightly crushed fennel seed; 2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped; 1 tsp fennel pollen, optional

Porchetta umbra: wide hero view of sliced rolled pork roast with an herb-flecked centre and deeply browned crisp rind

Prep45 minutes

Cook2 h 30 min

Total3 h 45 min

Yield8–10 servings

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The dish

About Porchetta umbra

Porchetta is strongly rooted in Umbria, where local tourism sources emphasise long cooking, a crunchy golden rind and an aromatic filling. Wild fennel is particularly important in Umbrian versions and is one of the details that distinguishes their fragrance from other regional porchette.

Traditional porchetta may use a whole boned pig or young pig, often including offal. A domestic kitchen rarely has the size, oven capacity or sourcing conditions for that method, so Umbria Tourism also presents a practical rolled version. This recipe follows that home-scale logic with skin-on belly surrounding a leaner pork centre.

The exterior needs two different heat phases. Moderate heat first cooks and renders the thick roll without scorching the skin. A final high-temperature stage drives moisture from the rind and produces crackling. Scoring only the skin and fat, not deep into the meat, helps rendered fat escape while keeping the roll intact.

Because the meat is rolled and the exterior surface becomes part of the interior, a conservative centre target of 71°C is used here. Resting then allows juices to redistribute before slicing. Porchetta can be served hot as a roast or cooled and sliced into bread, a common street-food presentation.

Bigoli absorb sauce during the final toss. Reserved cooking water is added gradually, not all at once, until the onion and olive oil form a glossy coating around every strand. The pan should finish almost dry beneath the pasta, without a separate oily puddle.

Technique

Three things that matter

Tie the roll tightly. An even cylinder cooks more predictably and holds the herb filling in contact with the pork.
Use wild fennel if available. Its aroma is one of the defining Umbrian signals; fennel seed is a practical fallback, not an exact substitute.
Separate cooking from crackling. Cook the centre first at moderate heat, then use high heat to crisp the rind without drying the interior.

Cook the dish

Ingredients

Everything needed to prepare the dish, arranged for fast scanning before cooking.

Ingredients

Pork

2 kgskin-on pork bellyone wide rectangular piece
700 gboneless pork shoulder or lointrimmed into a long piece to fit the centre

Seasoning

18 gfine sea salt
6 gfreshly ground black pepper
4 clovesgarlicfinely grated or minced
20 gfresh wild fennel frondsfinely chopped; or 2 teaspoons lightly crushed fennel seed
2 tbspfresh rosemary leavesfinely chopped
1 tspfennel pollenoptional

Step by step

Method

Season and roll

Prepare the belly. Lay the pork belly skin-side down. Trim any very thick loose fat and square the edges. Turn skin-side up and score the rind at roughly 1 cm intervals without cutting deeply into the meat, then turn it back over.
The skin should be scored through the rind and some fat but the meat should remain intact.
Season the interior. Mix the salt, pepper, garlic, wild fennel, rosemary and fennel pollen if using. Rub the mixture evenly over the meat side of the belly and over the centre piece of pork.
Herbs and seasoning should reach the full interior surface, especially the edges.
Roll tightly. Place the shoulder or loin along one long edge, then roll the belly firmly around it with the skin on the outside. Tie with butcher’s twine every 2–3 cm.
The roast should form an even cylinder with no loose flap.

Roast through

Dry and preheat. Pat the skin very dry and leave the tied roll uncovered at room temperature for 20 minutes while the oven heats to 180°C conventional.
The rind should look matte rather than wet.
Roast at moderate heat. Set the porchetta on a rack over a roasting tray and roast for about 90 minutes. Rotate the tray if one side colours faster.
Fat should render steadily while the skin colours gradually rather than burning.

Crisp, check and rest

Raise the heat. Increase the oven to 220°C and continue roasting for 45–60 minutes, watching the skin closely near the end.
The rind should blister and become deeply golden and crisp.
Verify the centre. Check the thickest central part with a clean thermometer, avoiding large pockets of fat. Continue cooking until it reaches at least 71°C.
The thermometer reading, not exterior colour, determines doneness.
Rest before slicing. Transfer to a board and rest uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove the twine and slice with a sharp carving knife.
The juices should remain mostly in the meat and the crackling should stay crisp.

Practical guidance

Wild fennel

Fresh wild fennel gives the most recognisable Umbrian aroma. If unavailable, use lightly crushed fennel seed and keep rosemary restrained.

Skin drying

For even better crackling, the rolled porchetta can be refrigerated uncovered for several hours before roasting, then brought out while the oven heats.

Serving

Serve thick hot slices as a roast or thinner cooled slices in crusty bread.

Rendered fat

Do not let a deep pool of fat reach the underside of the roll. Carefully spoon off excess if the tray becomes very full.

Troubleshooting

The rind stays rubbery. The skin was wet or did not receive enough final high heat. Dry it thoroughly and use the 220°C finishing phase.
The skin burns before the centre is done. The high-heat stage began too soon. Shield dark areas loosely with foil and finish the centre at lower heat.
The roll unravels. The twine spacing was too wide or the belly was rolled loosely. Tie at close 2–3 cm intervals.
The meat is dry. The roast overshot its centre temperature or was sliced immediately. Use a thermometer and allow the full rest.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: about 220 g cooked porchetta
Calories: approximately 690 kcal
Carbohydrates: 1 g
Protein: 46 g
Fat: 56 g
Fibre: 0 g
Sodium: approximately 900 mg

Porchetta is naturally rich; values vary greatly with belly thickness and rendered fat loss.

Allergens and food safety

Contains pork.

Keep raw pork and its juices away from ready-to-eat ingredients; wash boards, knives and hands thoroughly after handling.

Because this is a rolled roast, cook the geometric centre to at least 71°C in this home recipe.

Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and use within 3–4 days.

FAQ

What makes the Umbrian version distinctive?

Wild fennel is especially characteristic of Umbrian porchetta and gives the roast its unmistakable aromatic profile.

Can pork loin alone be used?

A lean loin without the skin-on belly loses much of the moisture, richness and crackling that define porchetta.

Why use two oven temperatures?

Moderate heat cooks and renders the roll; high heat at the end crisps the rind once the interior is already close to done.

Final note

What matters most

Result: A tightly rolled herb-scented pork roast with juicy slices and a blistered, crunchy outer rind.
Key: Build an even cylinder, cook the centre safely at moderate heat and reserve the strongest heat for the final crackling stage.

About Porchetta umbra

Three things that matter

Ingredients

Ingredients

Pork

Seasoning

Method

Practical guidance

Wild fennel

Skin drying

Serving

Rendered fat

Troubleshooting

Nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

FAQ

What makes the Umbrian version distinctive?

Can pork loin alone be used?

Why use two oven temperatures?

What matters most

More Italian dishes

Brodetto all’anconetana

Maritozzo con la panna

Fave e cicoria