Porchetta di Ariccia

Appearance & taste

On the top the crust is crisp, brown and tasty; on the underside it may also be soft. The meat is white to pinkish, covered with herbs and spices, and tastes of rosemary, garlic and black pepper. A whole pig (porchetta intera) weighs 27 to 45 kg, the trunk section (tronchetto) 7 to 13 kg. According to the specification, the porchetta is known for its meat and its crisp crust, which stays crisp for several days.

When sold, the fat content is below 33 %, the protein content above 20 % and the moisture below 57 %. The porchetta is packed whole, in pieces or in slices, in paper or food-grade plastic, also vacuum-packed or in a protective atmosphere.

Production

Sows entered in the herd books of the Landrace, Large White and Pietrain breeds or their hybrids are used; the carcasses must meet trade classes S, E or U. For a whole pig, the eviscerated carcass weighs 60 to 90 kg on delivery. For the trunk section, only the middle part between the third thoracic vertebra and the last lumbar vertebra is used, weighing 14 to 25 kg.

In Ariccia the carcass is boned by hand, salted and seasoned with pepper, garlic and rosemary, then tied, slowly roasted in the oven and cooled. According to the specification, the producers have passed down this art of seasoning, tying and roasting over generations.

Origin & history

According to the specification, Ariccia, unlike the neighbouring villages, keeps up a thousand-year tradition of porchetta. Tradition has it that the priests who prepared the pork of the animal sacrifices in the temple of Jupiter Latiaris on nearby Monte Cavo came from Ariccia. For centuries the Roman nobility spent the summer in Ariccia or held hunts here; this, too, helped the craftsmanship develop that is passed down from father to son in long-established families. According to the specification, the name “Porchetta” goes back to the fact that traditionally only female animals are used.

In 1950 the town’s porchetta makers, under the patronage of the mayor, held the first “Sagra della Porchetta di Ariccia”. Since then the festival has taken place every year, with sellers in traditional dress at decorated market stalls. The council records of 14 September 1962 note a grant for the feast of the town’s patron saint, Saint Apollonia, and for the Sagra. In his novel “That Awful Mess on the Via Merulana”, published in 1957, Carlo Emilio Gadda describes the regular sale of porchetta at a market in the centre of Rome.