Cooking instructions

Depending on the size, your shoulder porchetta will take up to three hours to cook, plus or minus 10 minutes. Your porchetta is pre-scored.

Take the porchetta out of the packaging, pat dry and put it on a plate lined with a paper towel in the fridge - preferably overnight. This helps the skin dry out so you get great crackling. Remove from fridge at least an hour before cooking so the meat is at ambient temperature when you start. Preheat your oven to 220 (fan forced) or get your charcoal barbecue as hot as possible. Put the porchetta on a trivet (or cake rack) in a baking tray with a tiny bit of water in the bottom of the tray to stop it scorching until the pork starts rendering. Place in the hot oven or barbecue (with lid on) for about 15 minutes or until the skin starts to blister a little. Turn the oven down to 160 (fan forced) or let the heat decline in the barbecue - don't add any more fuel. As the porchetta begins to render, sprinkle the skin with salt - it will stick to the fat. 

Check it at about an hour and 40 minutes to see how it's going. It's important not to over cook it! 

Sometimes the porchetta will be fully blistered after the first 15 minute hot blitz. If this happens you might need to give it another hot blast at the end to crisp up the skin for crackling - make sure you do this before the porchetta is fully cooked so you don't end up over-cooking it. 

When it's ready, the skin will be golden and the centre should still be tinged pink - a thermometer inside should read about 68 degrees. Note that the temperature will continue to rise after you take it off the heat.

Allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes. Your porchetta is pre-scored and it will have opened up along the score lines.

Porchetta is just as good served at room temperature as it is piping hot. In fact, it's good anytime, anywhere.

The Producers
We buy whole bodies of a range of different sized pigs on a rotating basis from a number of farms - from big baconers through to suckling pigs. Most available cuts come from porker pigs which are about 50-65 kg that are 5-7 months old. The pork we source is:

• packed with the farm and breed clearly labelled;
• hormone and antibiotic-free;
• entirely free ranging on chemical-free pasture;
• a mix of breeds including Berkshire, Landrace, Large White, English Large Black, Duroc, Wessex Saddleback and Tamworth;
• from NSW farms.

The producers we work with are entirely transparent about their processes and welcome all questions.