Porcini pork roast: take your roast to the next level!

Maybe the most popular dish with porcini mushrooms abroad is risotto or fettuccine. Today however  I would like to show you that porcini are the perfect pairing for meat, and this porcini pork roast is worth trying.

Porcini mushrooms are incredibly tasty and a great addition to give many recipes a kick. A pork roast is usually tasty and yummy but when you add some porcini mushrooms, it takes the roast to a whole new level. If you love to invite friends over I’m sure they will be impressed by how tender and tasty your porcini pork roast will be.

This pork roast is the perfect recipe when fall arrives. Temperatures are drops and you crave hot warming dishes. To make a feast pair this roast with a good fresh home made pasta recipe and a salad and you will have your perfect Italian Sunday lunch.

How to select the ingredients

• The meat: I personally think pork is best, in my house we rarely eat beef. But if you use porcini, the flavor of pork meat is best for this recipe. I always recommend to buy only high quality meat. I buy from a butcher that sells local wild black pigs, that eat acorns from the woods and not store-bought feed made of cereal. Also I would recommend to avoid meat from intensive farming. If you have a local farmer go there. The meat is healthier and you’ll help locals in your area.
  MONEY SAVING TIP: you can buy a cheaper cut like loin, shoulder or butt roast. In this case you will only need to cook it longer on low. Those cuts are best when you use a slow cooker or instant pot. The meat will be juicy and tender and you will have save a lot of money!
• Porcini mushrooms: you can easily buy dried porcini online. I guess this is the best way since finding fresh is hard in many places around the world. Dried are perfect  for two reasons; they keep for ages and  a little goes a very very long way. You can enhance the taste of whatever you are cooking with dried porcini by using the soaking water. That water is a super flavor concentrate.

Porcini pork roast: health facts

• Fiber and protein: Porcini mushrooms are actually a power house for your health, rich in vitamins and good fibers they should be eaten often, along with a lot of other mushrooms.
• Betaglucans: Actually porcini are a great source of beta-glucans that are great for your immune system, support your microbiome and also have cancer-starving properties. Check Dr. Li’s video on Porcini mushrooms to know more. You can buy fresh or frozen, or all-year-round available dried porcini.

Porcini pork roast: tips, tricks and substitutions

No porcini? Use any other mushroom you can get! Actually, if you do not have porcini, you could swap them for oyster, shiitake, portobello, button and any other you can get your hands on.
Even though following the recipes in many case is necessary, I really would like to send the message that cooking Italian food is more like choosing the ingredients and following your taste.
There is no unique “traditional recipe”, mainly because each family has its own. The same goes when choosing the cut of meat: pork shoulder for example would be as good as pork loin, you will only need to cook it a little longer, until tender.

Not sure how to buy pork? Check this useful guide a great way to know which cut suits best your taste.

This is the perfect for a slow cooker. You could put the meat in the cooker, and cooking on low for 5/6 hours, and it will be incredibly tender. Once cooked you can remove the meat from the pot, and put the excess liquid (if you have it) in a pan with some wine, half teaspoon of starch and a bit of butter, to make an incredible gravy.

Porcini are also perfect for a simple stir-fry with garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Try also my pici with porcini mushroom for a fancy pasta dish.

Porcini pork roast: how to make it
Ingredients for 4/6 people

• 500gr or pork fillet
• 5 fresh porcini or 10gr of dried porcini
• 6 slices of speck from Trentino (leave that our if you cannot find it)
• 1 big potato
• 1 carrot
• 1/2 celery stick
• 1 glass of wine (I used a white wine, you can also use red)
• 150ml of hot broth
• 2 tbsp of breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp of corn or potato starch
• 5gr of butter
• salt, pepper and 1 tbsp of olive oil

Method

Step 1
Peel the potato and boil it. Cut the mushrooms and half carrot into chunks (if you are using dried mushrooms, soak them in warm water for at least 15/20 min. then drain and keep the water for later). Put the boiled potato, mushrooms, carrots, breadcrumbs, and 1 tbsp of starch in a food processor and turn it on until you get a thick paste.

Step 2
Lay the fillet on the cutting board, cut it open until it it is 15cm wide. You can ask your butcher to do so. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and spread the filling onto it evenly. Roll it up and close it with a kitchen string.

Step 3
Cut the remaining carrot, the celery and the onion and put them into a casserole with the oil. Let it cook for a couple of minutes then add the meat. Brown lightly the surface of the meat than add half glass of wine.

Step 4
Let the wine evaporate then add the broth and the liquid of the dried mushrooms. In this case be careful not to pour also the dust that has sank to the bottom. Cook for about 20 minutes covered, then remove the lid and let it cook for another 10 minutes. You can check the meat with a bamboo skewer, if you can pierce the meat easily it is cooked. Do not overcook the meat, otherwise it’ll become too hard and gummy.

Step 5
Remove the meat from the pan and add the butter, the remaining wine and the teaspoon of starch mixed with water. Mix evenly and let it cook until it thickens. Now you can sift it to have a silky gravy or you can blend it to get a more rustic sauce. Now slice the meat and serve it on to a plate with the gravy.