I’ve decided to throw caution to the wind this holiday season with a different looking holiday table. I’m making Porchetta. It’s a juicy pork roast, wrapped in pig skin and cooked at an ultra high heat. In the end, you have a crackling outside and a juicy, tender inside. Because the butcher will season it for you, it uber flavourful and addictively delicious. I think this qualifies as a grand holiday dinner.

From my holiday kitchen to yours, may it be an overly abundant, excitingly delicious and thankfully local, memorable feast. Happy holidays everyone!!

Here is how I make it.

1butcher made Porchetta half or whole

Porchetta can be made from the loin, the belly or the shoulder. Massive amounts of herbaceous flavours and seasonings are layered on top of a butterflied piece of pork, rolled tightly with skin, sewn together into a roast.

You get the most delicious bits of crackling on the skin on the pork; it’s like candy. The pork is rich, luscious, very savoury, sexy, succulent and – a total herbaceous blast when you bite into it.

Start with a room temperature porchetta and fill the bottom of the roasting pan with white wine – no more than a bottle, no less than ½-inch on the bottom. It should not touch the bottom of the Porchetta. Cook it at 500F (250C) for 40 minutes to an hour. Turn the oven down to a low 300F (150C) and cook for 20 minutes per pound. It will take approximately 4 hours for a whole Porchetta. Do not open the oven door and baste it. When it is done, remove it from the oven and let rest for 30 minutes. The skin keeps it hot inside so more resting time is necessary. Use a very sharp knife for carving, the meat is so tender you will tear it apart with a dull knife. The pan juices make a delicious gravy.