Porklandia: Porchetta Takes Hold in Boston

Photo by Ted Morrison
Styling by Jessica Weatherhead/Team 

Porchetta has arrived in Boston, and it’s quickly becoming the darling of local chefs.

The traditional Italian roast—created by wrapping pork belly around a pork loin and herbs, then trussing the whole thing and cooking it slowly—boasts a fantastic combination of crisp, burnished skin and fat-streaked, fall-apart meat. “You’re showcasing so many different characteristics at the same time,” says Louie DiBiccari, who will be serving house-made porchetta at his new restaurant Tavern Road, which opens this month in Fort Point. The chef has plenty of experience with the roast. While working at Sel de la Terre, he developed a 72-hour prep technique—one day each for brining; aging and drying; and letting the tightly wrapped components set before roasting.

Porchetta also appears on the menu at the South End newcomer Cinquecento, where the chef de cuisine, Justin Winters, pairs it with a sour-cherry sauce and parsnip purée. “I love pork belly, and I love pork skin,” Winters says. “To put that on the menu in the way we’re doing it made much more sense than pork chops.”