The Undisputed Master of Porchetta

Just 15 miles outside of Rome in the outlying town of Marino, I found the butcher shop and deli of my dreams. Open since 1912, Il Norcino Bernabei is a family operation, run by Vitaliano Bernabei, his wife and son. For the past century, it’s been regarded as the finest meat shop of its kind, getting the highest quality ingredients from Italian farmers they know and trust. Vitaliano’s capicola, traditional Italian cured pork made from the muscle that runs from the neck to the rib, is unparalleled. The head cheese made from his grandfather’s recipe includes meat from all over the pig with chiles and preserved citrus. It’s best in class. There’s mind-blowing prosciutto, salami and coppa di testa. Vitaliano’s most revered talent? He’s the undisputed master of porchetta; it’s in his DNA. A boneless roast made from the side of a pig, Italians are obsessed with porchetta, and it’s easy to see why. After cutting off the legs and shoulder of the pig and deboning the trunk, Vitaliano trims the fat and moves extraneous meet to the interior, then layers in salt, pepper, wild fennel flower and rosemary. The porchetta is rolled, sealed and tied on all sides by hand, keeping all of the moisture inside, and roasted at 350 degrees for six to seven hours. It’s simply unequaled. His methodology is brilliant.