Things have been busy around my home this spring, and I am finally back with a new recipe post! This Pulled Porchetta Sandwich is a fun play on the classic Italian porchetta recipe, however my version is made with shredded pork shoulder. The addition of a bright and flavourful salsa verde really brightens up the roasted pork flavour, and serving the Pulled Porchetta on a bun is so playful and fun!
I developed this recipe for Red Barn Markets using all local ingredients from their store. I am so happy with how it turned out, and I think this is the prefect recipe to enjoy in the upcoming spring and summer seasons!
What is Porchetta?
Porchetta is an Italian-style pork roast. It is traditionally made with pork loin and is stuffed with delicious fresh herbs including sage, fennel, parsley, oregano, rosemary and garlic. It is often roasted in the oven prior to being thinly sliced and eaten on its own or in a sandwich. You can sometimes find porchetta even made with pork belly, giving it more fattiness and flavour. Either way, this savoury pork recipe is delicious and perfect any time of year!
A Hands-Off Recipe
I put my own spin on this recipe by using a pork shoulder and roasting it in the oven on low heat (300 degrees F). To get the most flavour out of the meat, I like to sear the meat on all sides before baking in the oven. This develops lots of rich flavour, and you get even more delicious flavours if you brown the onions and garlic with it as well!
Once it is seared, I add in all the herbs into the pot and top with water. The water keeps the meat from drying out in the oven and keeps it super juicy! Then once the pork is in the oven, you basically just let it cook on low heat for 3 hours until it is cooked and is falling apart!
You could also cook the pork in a slow cooker, but I highly recommend searing the meat, onions and garlic before adding it to the crock pot. This will ensure that you have a delicious base flavour and you a guaranteed to have a pork shoulder that will just fall apart!
Don’t Forget the Salsa Verde!
While the Pulled Porchetta is amazing on its own, topping it off with a fresh salsa verde really makes it! I make my salsa verde with lots of parsley and basil and enhance the flavours with lemon zest, garlic, dried oregano and chili flakes. This salsa verde brightens up the roasted pork and soaks into the bun perfectly!
My favourite buns to use for this recipe are locally-made from Portofino Bakery. Their Peasant Buns are so soft and have great flavour! I highly recommend using these buns if you are in the Victoria area, but if not, a nice brioche-like bun would be excellent here too!
Get the Recipe!
Pulled Porchetta Sandwich
Ingredients
For the Porchetta:
- 1.5 kg pork shoulder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion quartered
- 6 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
- 10 sage leaves fresh
- 5 sprigs oregano fresh
- 2 sprigs rosemary fresh
- 1 tablespoon dried fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon dried chili flakes optional
- 1 liter water or enough to cover the pork by ¾
- 6 Portofino Bakery Peasant Buns
For the Salsa Verde:
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 cups fresh Italian parsley stems removed, roughly chopped
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried chili flakes optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Heat a large Dutch oven (or oven-safe pot) on the stove over medium-high heat. Season the pork shoulder on all sides with the salt and pepper. Once hot, add the olive oil to the pot, followed by the pork. Sear the pork on all sides until golden brown.
- Once the pork has been seared on all sides, add the onion and garlic to the pot, placing it all around the pork shoulder. Let the onions and garlic cook for 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften and become fragrant.
- Next, add the sage, oregano, rosemary, fennel seeds and chili flakes to the pot, followed by the water. Make sure there is enough water to come ¾ of the way up the pork shoulder and that the pork isn’t fully submerged in water.
- Cover the pot with a lid and place in the center of the oven. Cook the pork shoulder for 3 hours, flipping the pork shoulder in the cooking juices every hour.
- After 3 hours, transfer the pork to a large bowl and use 2 forks to shred the meat. Add ½ cup of the cooking juice from the pot to the shredded pork and toss everything to combine.
- Serve the pork on toasted Portofino Bakery Peasant Buns and top with 1-2 tablespoons of Salsa Verde. Enjoy!
For the Salsa Verde:
- Add the garlic, salt and pepper to a food processor and pulse to finely chop the garlic.
- Next, add the lemon juice, parsley, basil, olive oil, dried oregano and chili flakes and pulse until the salsa verde is smooth.
- Transfer the salsa verde to a bowl and reserve until you are ready to serve with the Pulled Porchetta Sandwiches.
Notes
- You can also cook the pork shoulder on the stove, covered, for 3-4 hours over low heat rather than cooking it in the oven. Just make sure to check on the pork every hour to ensure that there is still enough water in the pot.
- You can also cook the pork shoulder in a crock pot on low heat for 6-8 hours. For best results, sear the pork shoulder and cook the onions and garlic until golden brown before adding to the crock pot. If cooking using this method, add only 1 cup of water to the crockpot before cooking.
- If the Salsa Verde is not mixing in the food processor, add a tablespoon of water at a time until the Salsa Verde forms a smooth sauce.
