Porchetta () is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

roast of Italian culinary tradition. The carcass is deboned and spitted or roasted traditionally over wood for at least eight hours, fat and skin still on. In some traditions, porchetta is stuffed with liver and wild fennel, although many versions do not involve stuffing. Porchetta is usually heavily salted and can be stuffed with

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers. It is a member of the sage family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean r ...

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

, or other herbs, often wild. Porchetta has been selected by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy as a (PAT), one of a list of traditional Italian foods held to have cultural relevance.

In Italy

Although popular in the whole country, porchetta originated in

central Italy Central Italy ( or ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region with code ITI, and a European Parliament constituency. It has 11,704,312 inhabita ...

, with Ariccia (in the province of Rome) being the town most closely associated with it. Elsewhere, it is considered a celebratory dish. Across Italy, porchetta is usually sold by pitchmen with their typically white-painted vans, especially during public displays or holidays, and it can be served in a panini. It is a common street food in Rome and Lazio served as a filling for (). It is also eaten as a meat dish in many households or as part of a picnic. Porchetta is one of the two iconic culinary products of the

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

region, the other being sheep cheese . It is also common in

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

. is generally slow-roasted with

, and pepper. Porchetta from

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

is stuffed with the pig's chopped entrails mixed with lard, garlic, salt, and plenty of pepper and wild

. (from

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

) was developed in 1919. In it, a pig is killed at one year old, and its meat is stuffed with salt, pepper, wild fennel, garlic, and white wine. It is then roasted inside an oven for seven hours at . Porchetta is a popular dish today in Venetian cuisine. The dish is also a staple of Sardinian cuisine. There it is known as and is roasted over juniper and myrtle wood fires.

In France

is registered officially as a typical product of

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

in the list of dishes of Niçoise cuisine inscribed as

intangible cultural heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. In ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. In the Niçoise tradition, the stuffing is made with the offal of the piglet (heart, liver, kidneys, and

sweetbread Sweetbread is a culinary name for the thymus or pancreas, typically from calf or lamb. Sweetbreads have a rich, slightly gamey flavor and a tender, succulent texture. They are often served as an appetizer or a main course and can be accompani ...

s), which are blanched before being cut into strips. These offal parts are mixed with pork loin as well as thyme, bay leaves, garlic, and fennel seeds. After being stuffed, the piglet is marinated overnight in white wine before being cooked. During the cooking process, the piglet's skin is brushed with a mixture of water and honey. In the hinterland of

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionItalian immigrants of the early 20th century, especially immigrants from

, and is sometimes referred to as "Italian pulled pork", "roast pork", or "Italian roast pork". It is, in many places, served on a sandwich with greens (

rapini Rapini (broccoli rabe or raab) () is a green cruciferous vegetables, cruciferous vegetable, with the leaves, buds, and stems all being edible; the buds somewhat resemble broccoli. Rapini is known for its bitter taste, and is particularly associ ...

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

) and provolone cheese. In the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a northern subregion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed upon, the region is usually defined to include the states of Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wi ...

, porchetta, more often spelled ', was also introduced by Italian immigrants to the iron ranges of Minnesota and Michigan. Porketta remains a popular local dish in towns such as

Hibbing, Minnesota Hibbing is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range an ...

, with distributors such as Fraboni Sausage.

References

{{Sandwiches Cuisine of Abruzzo Cuisine of Lazio Cuisine of Umbria Italian meat dishes Pork dishes Stuffed dishes Barbecue Sandwiches

In Italy

In France

See also

References