Photo by Mr. T in D.C.

By DCist contributor Jenny Holm

Don’t recognize that word on your dinner or drink menu? Sick of surreptitiously Googling at restaurants? Menu Decoder is your guide to obscure ingredients popping up on local dinner and cocktail menus.

What is it: The traditional recipe for porchetta, which comes from outside of Rome, involves gutting and deboning a whole pig, seasoning it with garlic, rosemary, sage, and wild fennel pollen, then rolling it up and roasting it over a wood fire. Porchetta panini is a popular street food in Rome. Whole hog barbecue isn’t an option for most urban restaurants in the U.S., so cooks here typically make porchetta by wrapping well-salted, seasoned pork belly around a seasoned pork loin, tying it all up with twine, and roasting the bundle in the oven until the fat softens and the skin crisps.

What does it taste like: Any way you slice it, porchetta should taste juicy, salt-tinged, and maybe even a little unctuous from the fat. It can be served warm (often as a roast) or cold (typically thin-sliced on a sandwich). Seasonings may vary according to the chef’s fancy, but garlic, herbs, orange, and chili is a popular combination.

Where to try it: Lupo Verde (1401 T Street NW) does a sweet and savory take on porchetta, layering it with polenta, poached apples, pear and five-spice jam, and grilled green onions. You’ll find the dish in sandwich form at the all-American Brookland’s Finest (3126 12th Street NE), where they really do debone and oven-roast a whole suckling pig, then layer the meat on Italian bread with sausage, arugula, mozzarella, and whole-grain mustard. And The Arsenal at Bluejacket (300 Tingey Street SE) features a “PLT” on their lunch menu: crispy porchetta, lettuce, and tomato with garlic aioli on ciabatta.