DRY BRINE THE SKIN THE NIGHT BEFORE: Lay your pork belly skin-side up on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Using a sharp knife, score the skin in a tight crosshatch pattern, cutting through the skin and just barely into the fat layer underneath. Make your cuts about half an inch apart. Mix 1 tablespoon of kosher salt with 1 teaspoon of baking powder and rub this mixture all over the scored skin. Do not rub it on the flesh side yet. Leave the pork belly uncovered in the refrigerator overnight, or for a minimum of 8 hours. The salt draws moisture out of the skin cells and the baking powder raises the pH to promote better browning and crackling. This step is what separates a great porchetta from a truly elite one.

MAKE THE HERB PASTE: The next day, combine the minced garlic, rosemary, sage, thyme, crushed fennel seeds, fennel pollen if using, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, and black pepper in a small bowl. Stir everything together into a thick, fragrant paste. Taste it. It should be bold, garlicky, herbaceous, and slightly spicy. Adjust seasoning as needed. This paste is the soul of your porchetta, so do not be shy with the flavors.

BUILD THE ROLL: Remove the pork belly from the refrigerator and flip it flesh-side up. Pat the flesh side dry with paper towels. Lay the pork loin down the center of the belly. Spread the herb paste aggressively over the entire flesh side of the belly and coat all sides of the loin as well. Now roll the belly tightly around the loin, starting from the long edge closest to you. The skin should end up on the outside of the roll. Pull it snug as you go. Once rolled, tie it tightly with butcher twine at 1.5-inch intervals along the entire length. The roll should be firm and hold its cylindrical shape without sagging. Brush the outside of the skin lightly with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle on a little extra kosher salt.

FIRE UP THE SMOKER: Set up your smoker or grill for indirect heat and bring the chamber temperature to a steady 250 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are using a kettle grill, bank your coals to one side and set a drip pan on the other side under where the roast will sit. Place your hardwood chunks directly on the coals or in the firebox. Wait until you see thin blue smoke coming from the vents, not thick white billowing smoke. Thin blue smoke is clean smoke and that is exactly what you want penetrating your porchetta. Thick white smoke will make it taste acrid and bitter.

SMOKE LOW AND SLOW: Place the porchetta roll seam-side down on the grill grate over indirect heat. Insert your leave-in probe thermometer into the thickest part of the center, making sure you are hitting the pork loin and not a pocket of fat or herb filling. Close the lid and let it smoke undisturbed at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Resist the urge to open the lid constantly. Every time you open the lid you lose 15 to 20 minutes of steady cook time. Check your fire every 45 minutes to make sure the temperature is holding. Add a small amount of charcoal if needed. At the 2-hour mark, rotate the roll 180 degrees to ensure even cooking. You are looking for a deep mahogany exterior and a smoke ring forming around the outer edge of the meat.

MONITOR THE INTERNAL TEMP: Continue smoking at 250 degrees Fahrenheit until the internal temp of the pork loin center reaches 135 degrees Fahrenheit. This is your target for moving into the high-heat finish phase. Depending on the size of your roll and the consistency of your fire, this will take approximately 3 to 3.5 hours. The fat will be rendering beautifully at this stage, the herb paste will have melded into a gorgeous dark crust, and your backyard will smell absolutely incredible.

THE HIGH-HEAT CRACKLING BLAST: When the internal temp hits 135 degrees Fahrenheit, it is time to crank the heat. Open your vents wide and if possible, add a small chimney of fresh lit coals to boost your chamber temp up to 450 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are on a gas grill, turn all burners to high for this phase. Alternatively, you can finish the porchetta in a preheated oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes if getting your smoker that hot is difficult. The goal here is rapid, intense heat that blisters and puffs the scored skin into shatteringly crispy crackling. Rotate the roll every 5 to 7 minutes so all sides of the skin get hit with direct high heat. You will hear it sizzling and popping and that is the sound of pure perfection.

PULL AND REST THE MEAT: Pull the porchetta off the heat when the internal temp hits 145 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the USDA-safe temperature for whole muscle pork and it will carry over a few degrees during the rest. Transfer it to a clean cutting board and tent it loosely with foil. Let it rest the meat for a minimum of 20 to 25 minutes. Do not skip this step. The rest allows the juices that have been driven toward the center during cooking to redistribute back through the entire roast. If you cut into it too early, all those beautiful juices run out onto the cutting board instead of staying in the meat where they belong.

CARVE AND SERVE: Remove the butcher twine before carving. Use a sharp slicing knife and cut the porchetta into rounds that are about 1-inch thick. Every slice should show a spiral of herb-flecked pork belly surrounding a juicy center of loin, ringed by that deep smoke-kissed bark, all enclosed in a band of crispy crackling skin. Serve immediately on a wooden cutting board with crusty bread, roasted vegetables, or a sharp chimichurri. Stand back and accept the compliments you have absolutely earned.