663070 Wed Oct 28 13:29:16 -0700 2009 21 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 5138130 I was struck by Melanie Wong's comment (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/662892) that "just a few years ago we were whining on this board about our unmet cravings for porchetta. Now it's everywhere, so many that I haven't been able to try them all yet." I haven't seen a thread bringing all those porchetta picks together, so thought I'd start one. Where are the top temples of roast pork? Wed Oct 28 13:29:16 -0700 2009 17346 Cicely 1 5138222 Oliveto, Camino, and Corso all do great roast pork. Some of the best I've had locally was, ironically, at Sea Salt. For a while they were doing it every Friday. Maybe the chef will do it as a special. Why is only Oliveto Cafe in the places database? Wed Oct 28 13:51:20 -0700 2009 5138130 11369 Robert Lauriston 1 5138502 I love kitchenette's porchetta sandwich. Did not like 54 Mint's porchetta (bland, not cooked that well). Wed Oct 28 15:33:45 -0700 2009 5138130 131701 carfeng 1 5138514 Had a great sample at Fatted Calf, Napa. Wed Oct 28 15:38:57 -0700 2009 5138130 105235 wolfe 2 5138531 I've had his roast pig at events, he's a master. Per their newsletter, those were 4-7 lbs. each at $13.75/lb. Wed Oct 28 15:45:25 -0700 2009 5138514 11369 Robert Lauriston 3 5138552 Fatted Calf! Wed Oct 28 15:51:19 -0700 2009 5138531 52092 mick 2 5155667 We were sampled generously on the porchetta at Fatted Calf in Napa. I liked the flavor, but the piece of meat was quite dry and lean on the cut we tasted. Also, the skin was too tough to chew. Another slice of the pig might be better. I had the porchetta sandwich at Il Cane Rosso on Sunday. I asked for some of the skin when I ordered, but didn't get any on my plate. Wed Nov 04 11:47:02 -0800 2009 5138514 10039 Melanie Wong 3 5157210 What did you think of the sandwich? Wed Nov 04 21:44:43 -0800 2009 5155667 13525 JasmineG 4 5199591 It's a good sandwich but not crave worthy for me. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/662892#5199589 Sun Nov 22 01:29:46 -0800 2009 5157210 10039 Melanie Wong 1 5138655 Hehe, I've had it at A16, Delfina, Roli Roti (napa), Santi (geyserville), Mark Malicki catering, and Fatted Calf in Napa. So far, Rolli Roti's my fave. Not mentioned yet, haven't tried Poggio in Sausalito. And, I heard from Tootsie's in Palo Alto that a source of small suckling pig has been located, so it will serve it too soon. Actually, while waiting for our local restaurants to come around, I learned how to make it myself at home using a 8 to 10# pork belly, salted/seasoned for two days in advance, rolled up. My homemade is my favorite, actually. Wed Oct 28 16:22:34 -0700 2009 5138130 10039 Melanie Wong 2 5138696 Sounds more like pancetta than porchetta. Other recipes appear to use shoulder or loin. Wed Oct 28 16:35:23 -0700 2009 5138655 105235 wolfe 3 5138707 The traditional porchetta in Rome is a whole boned pig (maybe minus legs and trotters, usually with the head), so one part's no less traditional than another. Wed Oct 28 16:39:07 -0700 2009 5138696 11369 Robert Lauriston 4 5138727 I see, there is a company with Tronchetto di, Pancetta di and even Proscuitto di along with whole pig di porchetta. Mouth watering pictures of the products. http://porchettaprimata.com/index.html Wed Oct 28 16:42:41 -0700 2009 5138707 105235 wolfe 3 5138713 The belly is called pancetta. The porchetta trucks that roam Umbria truss up an entire suckling pig from head to tail. Since the belly is the best part and our pigs are bigger, I use just that. The skin crisps up much more evenly. For a big group, rolling the fresh uncured belly around the loin also works, but I don't need more than 10 lbs of meat at my dinner table. Wed Oct 28 16:40:25 -0700 2009 5138696 10039 Melanie Wong 4 5138760 In Rome, they're not suckling pigs. I'd say some of the ones I saw at the Festa di Noantri and at the Sunday evening market in Frascati were 300-lb. hogs. Can I get porchetta in the East Bay around 9:30 tonight? This is making me hungry. Wed Oct 28 16:56:02 -0700 2009 5138713 11369 Robert Lauriston 5 5139061 I'm pretty sure the porchetta I bought from a stall at a fair in Rome was from a suckling pig. And the lamb in the butcher was real spring lamb. Is there anywhere in the Bay Area that serves *real* lamb and not young sheep (I had a lot of it on my recent trip to Patagonia)? Wed Oct 28 18:59:03 -0700 2009 5138760 10159 Ruth Lafler 6 5140187 I've seen real lamb in halal butchers. Here are some pictures of a porchetta stand at the market in Frascati. That's one's only about half the size of the biggest pigs I've seen there. http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/05/frascati-italy-isabella-the-queen-of-porchetta-sandwiches.html Suckling pigs max out at around 20 pounds. A porchetta made from a little pig like that would be gone in a few minutes at a busy stand. Thu Oct 29 09:10:21 -0700 2009 5139061 11369 Robert Lauriston 7 5155650 Here's a photo of the porchetta at Poggio from the restaurant's website. http://www.poggiotrattoria.com/images/dinner.jpg Wed Nov 04 11:44:21 -0800 2009 5140187 10039 Melanie Wong 8 5155666 $16, Mondays only. Wed Nov 04 11:46:47 -0800 2009 5155650 11369 Robert Lauriston 5 5139088 Interesting, I think I prefer the mobile version. (g) Maybe cooking it on a van's small spit calls for the smaller size. The hanging roast pigs in our local Chinatowns are about 150 lbs, so the Romans go twice as big? Wed Oct 28 19:09:05 -0700 2009 5138760 10039 Melanie Wong 1 5156806 Tried Rolli Rotti at the Oxbow Market a few weekends ago and waited forever...more than an hour..kept telling us it would be ready in 15 minutes. Now it's nice to get something freshley cooked, but they ought to be ready for business by 1pm -- not nearly 2:15. We walked around and took care of some shopping but when they finally had our sandwich ready, didn't even apologize or offer a free glass of water. Maybe we'll go back, but it was good, not great, and after waiting all that time, it was even dry. Wed Nov 04 18:11:16 -0800 2009 5138130 28256 MRMoggie 2 5159042 I've had the porchetta sandwich from the Roli Roti at the Thursday FB farmer's market. Meat not particularly tasty, huge hunks of fat, the skin tough as leather and unchewable. The carmelized onions are a nice touch, but I won't bother with this sandwich again. Thu Nov 05 13:50:30 -0800 2009 5156806 31877 lmarie