Porchetta Sandwiches with Garlic Herb Mayo.
This porchetta sandwich is sponsored by the National Pork Board!
Today we’re spicing things up with the perfect porchetta roast!
We’re turning this melt-in-your-mouth porchetta into an incredible sandwich with a savory mayo for dinner tonight. It’s unbelievably delicious and such a treat to make at home!
I’m excited to be partnering with the National Pork Board again today, bringing you this incredible delicious porchetta sandwich! For the rest of the year, I’m participating in the National Pork Board’s United States of Pork campaign, which celebrates all the diverse flavors and different pork dishes that we make across the country – starting with some hometown favorites!
(P.S. remember last year’s pork curry meatballs? I still can’t get enough!)
The National Pork Board surveyed consumers in every state to find out what their most-loved pork dishes are. The most popular dish here in Pennsylvania was the Italian hoagie! It’s definitely been a staple in my family for as long as I can remember – but it’s rarely something we make at home. It tends to be something we order when we’re out.
The traditional Italian hoagie has personally never been a serious favorite of mine, so I decided to take things into my own hands and make a twist on the way it’s prepared.
So… I went completely out of my comfort zone with this one and made porchetta!!
OH YES.
We love porchetta – Eddie still talks about the porchetta sandwich he had in San Francisco a decade ago. For the longest time, I was super intimidated to make it at home. But I’m so excited to tell you that it’s not only possible to make it at home – it’s fairly easy with the method that I’m going to show you!
Actually, it’s super easy. It’s a little time consuming, but it’s all mostly down time. As long as you plan ahead, you’re golden. And you will have the most incredible pork sandwich in your possession.
If you haven’t had porchetta, it’s a boneless pork roast stuffed with fresh herbs and garlic – and it most often uses pork belly! It’s so tender and juicy and rich and decadent. I love pork belly, but it’s not exactly easy to find in my area. I found a method for porchetta using pork butt, and I may enjoy it even more. This way, if pork belly is tricky to find in your area, you can make a version of this with pork butt too.
Of course, I also threw some pork belly in with the pork butt too – but either work!
The key is to make a delicious herb paste with garlic and lemon zest and olive oil. Oh my gosh – this is heavenly. The smell alone gets you excited enough to eat! This gets stuffed inside the pork and creates layers and layers of flavor.
Much like when I make roasted turkey or even beef tenderloin, it’s important to let the porchetta sit in the fridge overnight. This helps give you a super crispy skin.
Because while the herb filling is wonderful, the signature of porchetta is the super crispy outer layer. Think roasted chicken skin, but… better. If that’s even possible.
And it is! The crispy outside of porchetta is unreal.
Once the pork butt roasts have been slathered in the herb paste and take a time-out in the fridge, they go in for a slow roast. After the slow roast, I crank up the oven temperature and throw them back in to really crisp up the outsides.
I’m telling you: it’s divine.
So let’s get to our porchetta sandwiches.
Because the porchetta is fairly rich, I prefer to leave off cheese.
I KNOW! Who am I?!
But trust me, you don’t need the cheese here. You want to slice the porchetta super thin. Think of it as shaving the pieces from the porchetta roast.
Then you need a crusty delicious baguette. Top it with a garlic herb mayo, which I make at home and is as easy as it sounds: mayo, garlic cloves, fresh herbs from the garden.
I also like to have some greens on the sandwich for that refreshing, crisp bite. I like to do microgreens – even spicy microgreens! You could go with arugula or spinach too.
Then add on the thinly sliced porchetta and you’re ready to eat!
I can’t even handle how delicious this is. It’s so juicy and incredibly flavorful. The porchetta is definitely a labor of love, but it’s one of those dishes that is so much easier once you’ve cooked it one time. Seriously, now I can make porchetta easily and without much thought.
And we LOVE it.
Porchetta Sandwiches
Porchetta Sandwiches with Garlic Herb Mayo
Ingredients
- 4 pound boneless pork butt, trimmed
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
- ¼ cup minced garlic, about 12 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil
sandwiches
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ⅓ cup chopped assorted herbs, I like basil, parsley and chives
- baguettes, sliced for serving sandwiches
- microgreens or arugula, for serving
Instructions
- Place a wire rack on a baking sheet.
- Take the pork butt and cut it (going with the grain) from top to bottom, so you have 2 equal size roasts. Take a sharp paring knife or blade and slice a few slits in the fat cap. Lay each roast on its side, take the knife and cut a few slits in the pork butt on both sides, every 1 inch or so. We do this so we can stuff the herb mixture into the pork!
- Sprinkle the 2 roasts all over with the kosher salt.
- In a bowl, combine the rosemary, thyme, sage, lemon zest, fennel seed, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Add the olive oil and stir to form a spreadable paste.
- Take the paste and rub it all over the pork and into the slits that you sliced. I rub the paste heavily on both sides, into the cuts, on the bottom and a bit on the top. Take kitchen twine and tie both pork butt roasts into a more compact cylinder (as much as you can). Place the roasts on the wire rack on the baking sheet. Do not cover. Refrigerate overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Transfer the pork to a baking dish or higher rimmed baking sheet, setting them a few inches apart. Cover the dish with foil.
- Roast the pork for 2.5 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees F.
- Remove the pork from the oven. Increase the heat in the oven to 500 degrees F. Transfer the pork to another clean baking sheet and gently cut the twine off the pork. Once the oven reaches 500 degrees F, place the sheet with the pork (uncovered) in the oven and roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the inside reaches 190 degrees F. This makes the outside SO super crispy! Remove the pork and let it sit for 30 minutes before slicing.
- Slice the pork into super thin slices - almost think of shaving it with the knife. And time to serve!
- To assemble the sandwiches, spread a baguette with the garlic herb mayo. Top with the greens. Add on the sliced porchetta. Top it with the bun and serve!
- Note: you can do the same with pork belly and I use the same method and temperatures. I use 3 to 4 pounds of pork belly - either a slab or a few thin pieces. Slice the slits into the pork belly, spread the paste on, roll them up and tie with twine. Then follow the same instructions - fridge time out, slow roast, high temp crisp up. Let rest and slice!
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I appreciate you so much!
My kind of sandwich.
5 Comments on “Porchetta Sandwiches with Garlic Herb Mayo.”
this was incredible
Is it weird that I’ve been following for so long that my first thought when I saw fennel seed on the ingredient list was “Jessica hates fennel seed!”… because I agree! But now, This looks delicious so maybe I should give it another chance. Off to buy pork belly!
This recipe was fantastic! It was a total crowd-pleaser, and my husband and I agreed it could be made into an awesome open-faced appetizer if cut into smaller pieces.
We made the porchetta in advance (the day before) and heated briefly on the grill just before serving. 10/10 recommend!
Holy moly – all the prep for this recipe was absolutely worth it. I got a little nervous since my pork butt didn’t have a fat cap, and I forgot to cover the pan in foil when popping it in the oven, but it’s not dry at all!! So delicious.
This recipe was fantastic Thanks for Shaing this post.
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