porchetta

Porchetta () is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. The carcass is deboned and spitted or roasted traditionally over wood for at least eight hours, fat and skin still on. In some traditions, porchetta is stuffed with liver and wild fennel, although many versions do not involve stuffing. Porchetta is usually heavily salted and can be stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs, often wild. Porchetta has been selected by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policy as a (PAT), one of a list of traditional Italian foods held to have cultural relevance.

==In Italy== thumb|Porchetta from Luco dei Marsi, Abruzzo thumb|Porchetta, whole and cut in slices, at the Marino Wine Festival|Sagra dell'Uva di Marino thumb|A close-up of a porchetta sandwich Although popular in the whole country, porchetta originated in central Italy, with Ariccia (in the province of Rome) being the town most closely associated with it. Elsewhere, it is considered a celebratory dish. Across Italy, porchetta is usually sold by pitchmen with their typically white-painted vans, especially during public displays or holidays, and it can be served in a panini. It is a common street food in Rome and Lazio served as a filling for (). It is also eaten as a meat dish in many households or as part of a picnic.