To start this off, this is a blatant rip off of the wonderful porchetta sandwich from Armandino’s Salumi. Over the past year, my office has been around the corner from Salumi and I’ve had the chance to try about everything on the menu including their porchetta. It’s wonderful (as is everything else there) though I’ve always found it a touch to strong on the fennel side. If you are not familiar with porchetta, it’s a tender italian boneless pork dish with a sweet fennel flavor. In this post I serve it as a sandwich but it can be served as a with polenta, mashed potatoes, pasta, or even in a pie. This recipe is amazingly easy to make and SO GOOD! It really is amazing and I couldn’t recommend it more. I don’t know how they make it at Salumi but the method that I’ve come up with is great. I’ve toned down the fennel and balanced the flavors into something quite special. I recommend trying this!

Porchetta

5 lb – Pork Shoulder

2 bulbs – Fennel, topped and whole

2 – large onions, peeled whole

1 – large carrot, peeled and quartered

1 cup – white wine

1/2 cup – fennel top, diced

5 cloves – fresh garlic, chopped

1/2 cup – flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 Tbsp. – Fresh Thyme

1 tsp. – fennel seeds

Salt and Pepper

 

Place carrot, fennel bulbs, and onions (aromatics) in the bottom of a heavy Dutch oven. Add the wine.

Generously salt and pepper the roast and place it on top of the aromatics. Top with diced fennel top, garlic, thyme, fennel seeds, and parsley. Cover with the Dutch oven lid.

Place the roast in a 300 degree oven for 5-6 hours or until entirely rendered. This can all be done in a crock pot as well. Remove the carrots and break up the other aromatics with a fork. Break up the meat slightly as well and stir together. This will keep in the fridge for up to a week.

Porchetta Sandwich

(makes 8 sandwiches)

1 slice – white sandwich bread, remove crust

2 – cloves fresh garlic

1/4 cup – flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup – extra virgin olive oil

1 – large onion, chopped coarsely

1 – green pepper, chopped coarsely

2 – crusty baguettes

Let the bread dry on the counter overnight or in a low heated oven until dried. Crumble into bread crumbs. Finely mince the garlic, parsley, and bread crumbs. Add the olive oil and stir well, let rest 1 hour. This will act as a spread.

Sauté the onion and pepper with a small amount of olive oil until clear.

Cut each baguette into 4 pieces and butterfly (slice almost the whole way through). Spread some of the garlic spread on each side and top with a generous amount of porchetta, peppers, and onions. Enjoy!