Ibérico Pork Belly Porchetta with Morels
Rated 4.8 stars by 4 users
Author:
Bex Blundy
Servings
12
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Iberico pork belly porchetta with morels takes one of Spain's most prized cuts and rolls it into a slow-roasted centrepiece worth gathering people around. This Iberico porchetta recipe leans on the pork belly's high fat content, which gives it a rich, nutty flavour that develops further as it roasts, while a filling of fresh morel mushrooms and a dusting of truffle adds a deep, earthy aroma running through the middle of each slice. Served pink and just-cooked, the meat is tender and melting, with crackling crisp enough to shatter under a knife. A long, considered slow-roasted pork belly worth the time, ideally served at a relaxed weekend lunch or special-occasion dinner.
Ingredients
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1.5kg Ibérico Pork Belly
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250g fresh morel mushrooms
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1 tablespoon mustard seeds
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1 tablespoon black peppercorns
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3 cloves garlic, crushed
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1 tablespoon dried rosemary
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1 tablespoon dried thyme
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½ teaspoon chilli flakes
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2 tablespoons truffle dust (optional but recommended!)
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25ml cognac
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2 tablespoons flaky salt, to season
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Drizzle olive oil
Directions
Preheat the oven: To 200°C.
Prepare the Ibérico pork belly: By scoring the fattier side with a sharp knife, creating diagonal slashes all along the cut. This will make it easier to roll. Flip over the pork belly, then pound the other side with a mallet to tenderise the meat.
Toast and crush the dried herbs and spices: Toast the mustard seeds and peppercorns in a dry pan until fragrant, then crush together the toasted spices, the garlic cloves, the dried rosemary and thyme, the chilli flakes and one tablespoon of the flaky salt in a pestle and mortar, or a mini chopper.
Make the morel filling: By blitzing together the morels, the herb and spice blend, and the truffle dust if using in a food processor. Once smooth, fry off a pan with the 25ml of cognac.
Fill the porchetta: With the mushroom mix, spreading evenly across the surface of the pork belly.
Tie the porchetta: With string into a tight roll. Rub the outside of the pork belly with the additional 1 tablespoon of flaky salt and a drizzle of olive oil.
Roast the porchetta: For 1 hour and 20 minutes, basting with oil every 20 minutes. Ibérico pork is best served slightly pink and the best way to ensure it does not overcook is to check with a temperature probe every 20 minutes, aiming for 60°C as the final core temperature. It will increase by several more degrees as it rests.
Rest the porchetta: For 20 minutes before carving.
Serve the porchetta: In rolls or with seasonal vegetables. We’d recommend pairing with a sharp and acidic salsa verde or similar herbal but acidic sauce.
Recipe Note
About Iberico Pork and Porchetta
Iberico pork comes from the black Iberian pig, raised across the dehesa pastures of western Spain and parts of Portugal. The breed is known for its high fat and a rich, nutty flavour that comes from a long-finishing diet, in the higher grades, of acorns, which is what gives any Iberico pork recipe its distinctive depth. Porchetta is a Central Italian tradition, originally a whole boneless pig boned, stuffed with herbs and slow-roasted on a spit. Rolling Iberico pork belly into a porchetta-style centrepiece marries the two traditions: the fat and depth of the Spanish cut, the herb-and-aromatics build of the Italian preparation. This porchetta with morels brings an earthy spring note that flatters the meat.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Iberico pork belly porchetta with morels in thick slices, alongside roasted new potatoes, soft polenta or a buttery white bean and rosemary mash. A simple bitter-leaf salad with a sharp mustard vinaigrette cuts through the richness. For wine, a medium-bodied red such as a young Rioja or a Ribera del Duero pairs particularly well. Any leftovers slice thinly the next day for a luxurious sandwich filling with mustard and pickled vegetables.
Ingredients you'll need
