Baked porchetta (pork belly roll), double marinated

Ingredients:

For the liquid marinade:

• 3,150–3,600 g pork belly with skin
• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
• 6 tablespoons dried juniper berries
• 3 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 1 bunch of thyme
• 1.5 cups coarse salt
• 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
• 40 cloves garlic (about 3-4 heads), lightly crushed

For dry marinade:

• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp dried juniper berries
• 1 tbsp. black peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely crushed

Preparation:

1. Prepare a liquid marinade for the meat: Pour 3.5 liters of water into a large saucepan. Add the garlic, fennel seeds, juniper berries, peppercorns, and thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, add salt and brown sugar, stir, and let cool to room temperature.
2. Marinate the meat in brine: Place the pork belly in a large pot, cover with brine, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
3. Prepare a dry marinade for rubbing the meat: In a medium skillet over medium heat, toast the fennel seeds, juniper berries, and peppercorns for 2-3 minutes until the spices release their distinctive aroma. Coarsely grind the mixture in a spice grinder. Transfer to a small bowl and add the nutmeg, thyme, and garlic.
4. Rub the pork with dry marinade: Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Rub the bacon with the spice mixture on the meat side. Some of the mixture may remain; use the part that sticks to the meat. Place the pork skin-side up in a large, rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate, uncovered, for 24 hours to dry out.
5. Make a pork roll: Preheat the oven to 240 degrees Celsius (450 degrees Fahrenheit). (If your oven has a convection setting, turn it on. In this case, preheat the oven to 230 degrees Celsius (450 degrees Fahrenheit). Turn the meat skin-side down. Roll it up, starting from the long side.
6. Tie the roll with threads in several places at a distance of about 2 cm from each other.
7. Prick the pork with a skewer in several places. This will help the fat render out and the skin become crispy.
8. Bake the porchetta: Place the roll on a wire rack set on a baking sheet with high edges. Place 4 upside-down spoons close to the pork roll. This will prevent the roll from rotating.
   
   Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pan and basting the pork loaf with fat every 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 175 degrees Celsius (160 degrees Fahrenheit for convection) and continue baking for another 1.5 hours, rotating the pan every 15 minutes. The internal temperature of the pork loaf should reach 68 degrees Celsius.
9. Cut the porchetta: Leave the pork for 30-40 minutes, then remove the strings and cut into 2 cm thick slices.