Porchetta, traditions & gastronomy.

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The Cerealia  were a Roman festival, celebrated on April 12 and followed by games that lasted until April 19, and dedicated to  Ceres . The rite was divided into two parts: the first,  small mysteries , was a kind of purification that took place in spring, the second,  great mysteries , was a consecratory moment and took place in autumn. The ceremony was intended to represent the rest and the perennial awakening of country life.

But in Ariccia, pig breeding was probably also important, although limited to the practice of sacrifice. The sacrificial animal of Demeter, a divinity assimilated to Ceres,  *ker  and means “she who has within herself the principle of growth” and present in Ariccia in the temple of Casaletto since the 4th century BC, with it the small female suckling pig necessary to participate in the  rituals and mysteries.

A bit of History

Porchetta di Ariccia : The PGI designation refers to the product obtained from the processing of the whole pig or only its central part ( log ), which is cooked and seasoned. The pigs, belonging to the Landrace, Large White, Pietrain breeds and related hybrids, must be exclusively female. The Danish Landrace genetics is a medium-large sized pig breed, white in colour with long bodies, fine hair, long snouts and heavy drooping ears. They are bred for the production of pork. The “Piétrain ” breed pig originates from  Jodoigne, Wallonia , and is considered a model for the pig breed, the Piétrain is also known today as the “ pig with four hams”

The area where porchetta di Ariccia  is produced is PGI   (protected geographical indication) and includes the municipality of Ariccia , (00072 CAP) in the province of Rome, in the Lazio region. Ariccia is a charming town in central Italy, just outside Rome (about 25 km away) and is considered one of the most important food and wine centers in southern Lazio for its porchetta tradition. Many claim paternity, but the place where it is made, where the dish has been famous since ancient times, is Ariccia, which has a history, not only in terms of food and wine, that dates back to the times of ancient Rome and many historians consider it to be the birthplace of “ Jens Julia ”. The Appian Way, known as the “queen of roads”, is located there and it was a place where the Roman Emperor Vitellius stayed , where he had an imposing villa in the upper part of the city. During the Renaissance period it was the scene of important projects by the architect GL Bernini , who left the city “ La collegiata ” with the church, which is inspired by the Roman Pantheon, and the trapezoidal square. There is also an important museum of Roman Baroque, up to the inside of the Palazzo Chigi di Ariccia , the summer residence of the important Sienese bankers, who had a Pope in their family,  Pope  Alexander VII , born Fabio  Chigi.

Porchetta Appeareance Calories.

English : A precise disciplinary protocol is followed in the production  reported here . The pig carcasses are deboned (deprived of bones) manually at the same time “trimmings” of excess meat are removed, then used later for the production of cured meats, various sausages etc.. Subsequently, the salting with sea salt is carried out, followed by the rubbing of the meat to allow the salting to penetrate better into the product to be cooked, followed by the spicing phases with  garlic, rosemary, salt and black pepper , powdered or coarsely ground.  Wild fennel  is not permitted by the PGI protocol. Before cooking, the porchetta is placed on a food or stainless steel tube so that the heat that the tube will reach, with the oven, also spreads inside, then it is tied manually with a medium-sized string so as to give it a shape that will be maintained during the cooking process, maintaining the original compactness and the typical shape that the product has iconicly assumed over the years. Cooking will last from three to six hours, at a temperature between  160 and 280°C . After being removed from the oven, it is placed in cooling rooms at a temperature between 10 and 30°C (for 5-15 hours) to eliminate excess fat and liquids and give the crust the right consistency, the typical color to the meat and a longer shelf life to the product.

Porchetta Bizzarrenesses

In the Roman Empire, a lot of pork was produced and consumed. As evidence of this, there are treatises, recipes, performances and even a curious nursery rhyme, which was recited by students amidst great laughter. It is the “ Testamentum porcelli ” (literally “Will of the Pig”), in which Grunnio Corocotta, a fattening pig about to be cooked, dictates his last wishes. The unfortunate pig asks that his meat be seasoned with almonds, pepper and honey, so that it will be remembered forever. He also decides to donate every part of his body and his possessions to relatives and different people: his ears to the deaf, his loins to women, his bristles to cobblers, his bladder to children, his tongue to chatterboxes… The whole thing ends with the ironic signatures of characters such as Lardone, Bisteccone, Prosciutto and Salsiccio. This humorous text, dating back perhaps to the 4th century AD, bears witness to the ancient roots of the famous popular saying ” nothing of the pig is thrown away”.

Porchetta ( AKA Porketta) and tronchetto, differences

Many people ask us what the differences are between the   porchetta log (slice) and the  whole porchetta  (with and without the head).

In short What kind of piece of pork is porchetta?  We can start by saying that  both belong to and are classified as “porchetta di Ariccia” . The log is essentially produced with the same method as the IGP porchetta, the aromas are the same, the cooking too. In short, nothing changes except for the cut of meat used. In the whole porchetta, as the name suggests, the whole pig head previously deboned,  including the head, shoulder and leg , at the end of the aromatization and/or spicing once cooked makes up the final product.  So how does the slice differ ? First of all the shape, which is essentially cylindrical. Then the other difference is in the fact that the log or slice of porchetta is produced starting from longitudinal selections of the  central portion  of the pig head. In short, the most valuable parts are used such as the loin or pork loin, and the part of the belly. From this certainly derives a more intense flavor compared to the portions of the  whole porchetta  , in particular compared to the shoulder and leg. The reason? In our opinion because during the cooking process the fats contained in greater quantities in the area of ​​the pancetta, even if melting and dripping into the “dripping pan” are integrated into the meat. Which happens to a lesser extent in the whole porchetta in the front and back areas, since these latter are composed of muscular parts they do not have the intensity of flavor that the  log has, which in short is substantially slightly fattier.

Porchetta: Unparalleled Flavor

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