Porchetta is Angelo Competiello’s Passion

For Angelo Competiello, porchetta is both passion and mission
 

Porchetta is a rolled pork roast, stuffed with aromatics, seasoned thoroughly, sealed in scored pig skin that crisps under slow roasting, conjuring melted fat to baste the succulent meat within. The dish is indigenous to central Italy and most recognized as originating in the Roman province town of Ariccia. Preparations vary throughout central Italy, where it is considered street food and offered by food trucks or at market stands, typically as a panino.

Porchetta is Angelo Competiello’s passion.

Raised as a butcher and curer of meats, Angelo was familiar with the classic dish but had never personally tasted it until he sought it out during a fateful trip to Rome in 2010.

The love-at-first-bite experience inspired him to add porchetta to his repertoire when he returned home to his specialty food store, A&S in Wyckoff. Over the course of four to five years of experimentation, he perfected his recipe. Eventually, culinary aficionados took notice. Competiello’s signature porchetta has been served formally at the James Beard House as well as at catered “porchetta parties” and convention appearances around the country. Photos of his tubular masterpieces—crisp and golden brown on the outside, juicy and pinkish within—are devoured on social media. His porchetta has appeared on the Food Network with Guy Fieri and on “Good Day New York” with Rosanna Scotto. His mastery of the dish has earned him the moniker “The Porchetta King.”

And while he will not divulge the secrets of his porky success, despite frequent requests, he does acknowledge that his treatment of the skin, the manner in which he coaxes flavor and creates texture, is a significant factor.

Stocky, tattooed, dark haired and bearded, the formidable first impression of Competiello is belied by the cherubic countenance of someone who is in love with his work.

“I love feeding people,” he says. “Food is more than just what you put in your body. It’s an experience. Everybody loves to eat in some way, and I love opening people’s minds to what they are not used to and also offering the highest-quality versions of what they’ve enjoyed their whole lives.”

In many ways, Competiello believes, porchetta symbolizes his ethos of authentic Italian food in America and the signature cuisine he strives to present: somewhat over-the-top unctuous and an incredible presentation requiring great ingredients, careful preparation, and patience.

HIS MASTERY OF THE DISH HAS EARNED HIM THE MONIKER “THE PORCHETTA KING.”

PORCHETTA SYMBOLIZES [COMPETIELLO’S] ETHOS OF AUTHENTIC ITALIAN FOOD IN AMERICA AND THE SIGNATURE CUISINE HE STRIVES TO PRESENT: SOMEWHAT OVER-THE-TOP UNCTUOUS AND AN INCREDIBLE PRESENTATION REQUIRING GREAT INGREDIENTS, CAREFUL PREPARATION, AND PATIENCE. 

Raised in Yonkers by an Italian immigrant father and a mother of Sicilian descent, young Angelo began working in his father’s pork store at the age of 8. The tasks began with menial labor, such as cleaning onions and baccala and tripe. As a tween, Angelo moved on to butchering and sausage making before working behind the counter, standing on a milk crate, as a teenager. The ultimate advancement arrived in the privilege of making the shop’s signature mozzarella.

Even while attending college and promoting concerts, Angelo still managed to work 70 hours a week in his father’s shop. It was during those busy times that Angelo’s calling became clear.

“Everything I learned at the store fueled more of a love for it,” he says “I decided, in my early 20s, ‘This is what I’m going to do.’ I’m fortunate in a sense that my father did his career because he had to help feed his family. I was given the opportunity to choose to do this, out of love and passion for what I do. I got that opportunity by working for my father. He wanted me to be an accountant or a lawyer. We used to argue about it, but I’d say, ‘You’re the one who started this.’”

And starting at his father’s side, the kid from Yonkers has gone on to become one of the very few American-born members of the Association of Italian Chefs in NY (Associazione Italiana Chef NY) and an official Taste Ambassador to the City of Genoa. And he’s not a one-dish wonder. Angelo pickles and cures and butchers, works with dough, makes pastas and pizzas from scratch, and has been known to turn out 500 orbs of fresh mozzarella in a single session.

A&S was not immune to the havoc wrought by Covid-19 on the food retail industry, and Angelo left the organization in 2020 to pursue his own interests. Since then, he has been doing regular pop-ups and events, such as the Pig Island NYC pork festival, and using the time to master more dishes.

Still, entrepreneurship is in his blood and Angelo is carefully planning his formal return to the retail market in New Jersey at some point soon, which is great news to his many loyalists. Robert Ferrari, once a regular at A&S, is thrilled by the news of Angelo’s potential return to the world of brick and mortar.

“My father’s from Rome, so I’ve known porchetta my whole life. I also grew up around here, in the ‘Baked Ziti Belt,’ if you will, so I was heartbroken when Angelo left A&S,” Ferrari says. “As soon as he’s back in action anywhere in northern Jersey, I’m there.”

• To inquire about Angelo’s products, including porchetta, and arrange for pickup or catering, contact him via Instagram at @mind_machine.