Food and Drink

This spicy, crackly-skinned pork roast is the winner of our holiday recipe contest

When I came across this recipe for spicy, crackly-skinned pork roast, I knew right away it was a winner, but I wasn’t prepared for the fun adventure I’d have making it. The first cool thing that happened was I got to make a trip to New Sagaya Midtown Market, where I had the pleasure of talking with “Mr. H” (That’s how you ask for him, if you go) a sort of institution at the meat counter. He knows all about porchetta, or pork belly, a cut of meat that is sought after by cooks in Anchorage across many cultures, from the Philippines to the Pacific Islands to Laos to Italy. Pork, man. It’s a uniter.

One of the nice things about this cut of meat is that it’s relatively inexpensive. I went with a leaner cut because there is no shortage of fat with pork belly. Mr. H sent me home with plenty of butcher twine, which you’ll need. You will also need a meat thermometer, a food processor or decent blender and an old coffee grinder for the spices (a mortar and pestle might work instead of all the fancy appliances, too). The spices are a thing to consider. You can find star anise at grocery stores and Asian groceries. Sichuan peppercorns are a little more tricky. I found mine at Sagaya, which also carries Thai chiles. The other thing to consider is time. You should start in on this thing at least a day ahead of time and keep in mind that it cooks in the oven for some time. The last thing is a really sharp knife. If you don’t have one that will literally slice off a human finger, you might try a decent serrated knife. You want nice, uniform slices.

The biggest adaptation I made to this recipe is cooking time, and I turned my oven up to 325 degrees. Once my pork reached 160 degrees, I didn’t cook it for an additional 2 hours, mainly because I ran out of time. I gave it a half-hour longer, and then I went for the magnificent skin-crisping 500-degree step. It was great. But the slower cook might make for more tender meat. If I had it to do over again, I’d turn the pork during the last step to crisp it all over. I reduced the number of chiles in the herb paste on account of the older people I was feeding, but I’d go for the full heat as a general rule. This is a great holiday main dish.

Asian-inspired porchetta

(By Hempire Co. Holiday Recipe Contest grand prize winner Jin Chong)

Ingredients:

For the spice mixture:

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1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/4 teaspoon clove

For the herb paste:

4 cloves garlic

4 cups packed cilantro

3 Thai birds eye chiles

For the porchetta:

1 5-pound skin-on pork belly

Salt, to taste

Method:

At least a day ahead, prepare the meat.

Make the spice mixture: In a small saucepan over medium heat, toast the spices, continuously swirling the pan until they become fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a spice grinder and grind until finely ground.

Make the herb paste: In a food processor, grind the garlic, cilantro and chiles until smooth.

Transfer the paste to a small bowl and set aside. Using a chef’s knife, carve a 1/2-inch-deep crosshatch pattern inside the belly (the non-fat side). Rub the spice mixture and herb paste all over the scored meat and season aggressively with salt. Roll and tie the porchetta lengthwise, using kitchen twine, at 1/2-inch intervals. Season surface of porchetta with salt. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate at least overnight and up to three days (can be frozen up to several months).

At least five hours before you plan to eat, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place pork in a v-rack set in a large roasting pan or on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet. Place roasting pan in oven and roast about two hours, basting with pan drippings every half hour, until internal temperature of pork reaches 160 degrees. Once temperature is reached, continue roasting until a knife or skewer inserted into the pork shows very little resistance, about two hours longer. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees and continue roasting until the skin is completely crisp and blistered, about 20 to 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can remove the roast from the oven and tent with foil for up to 2 hours before finishing it in a preheated 500 degree oven. Tent with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Slice with a serrated knife into 1-inch-thick discs and serve.

Julia O'Malley

Anchorage-based Julia O'Malley is a former ADN reporter, columnist and editor. She received a James Beard national food writing award in 2018, and a collection of her work, "The Whale and the Cupcake: Stories of Subsistence, Longing, and Community in Alaska," was published in 2019. She's currently writer in residence at the Anchorage Museum.

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