“For true porchetta, you need wild fennel. We can’t get it here, and the closest thing is wild dill. We put the dill blossom on the plate and add it at the last minute to the sauce. As for the pollen, I want you to wipe each bite of pork in it. Fennel defines the flavor of true porchetta.”
“This is Ossabaw pork. The Ossabaw is the first pig cultivated in America by the Spanish, and it still has a wild, undomesticated flavor. We marinate it with dill, fennel seeds, lemon, orange, and some salt and pepper, then sous-vide it for nine to twelve hours. We finish it in a pan to get that nice crust.”
“This chop is simply seasoned and then roasted in a pan with garlic and rosemary. We cut the crunchy skin off and served it as a detached topping; you can eat it or not, as you choose.”
“Artichokes just go well with porchetta. We fry these quickly in extra-virgin olive oil, then put them in a bowl with lemon juice and fresh herbs, which gives them a little acidity to cut the fattiness of the pork. It almost cleans your palate between the pork.”
“We like to use sous-vide because it’s more delicate and sensible to contemporary dining. It’s perfectly tender when we’re done with it. Here, we’ve added some braised pancetta from the roasting sauce under the skin; though you can’t see it here, the server puts the sauce on each piece tableside.”