Porchetta with Roasted Fennel

This was a revelation for me.  I know I LOVE roasted pork, and things like my Cuban Roasted Pork are favorites, but with this one I found that I could love the veggies roasted with the pork even more than the meat.  Slow roasted fennel might be enough to make me a vegetarian again (if it hadn't been cooked in pork drippings).

3-3.5 lb pork shoulder, excess fat trimmed and reserved
juice from one orange

Herb Rub:
2 large sprigs rosemary, stripped from stems and chopped
zest of one lemon and 1.5 oranges
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 t kosher salt
2 t toasted and ground fennel seeds
2 t ground black pepper

3-4 bulbs fennel, trimmed of tops, halved, cored, and thinly sliced (trust me, more is better, but take in to account the size of your baking dish; I can just barely fit 4 in my 5.75 qt Le Creuset)
Olive oil and ample salt to taste for the fennel

If using a bone in pork shoulder, cut three or four deep cuts in to the meat and evenly distribute the rub in them.  Use butcher's twine to hold the meat together.  If boneless, butterfly the entire roast out and spread the rub on the entire inner surface before rolling and trussing with twine.

Place the roast in a covered ceramic baking dish and bake at 350 F for two hours, turning every 30 minutes or so, and basting with the orange juice.  If things seem to be drying out too much, use juice from the other orange or from the lemon.

After two hours, add in the fennel with olive oil and salt, and toss to combine with the drippings in the pan.  Continue to roast for another hour and a half, stirring the fennel every 30 minutes and turning the meat to promote even browning.  The fennel should be almost melting and the meat should be falling apart. 

Serve with the pork with polenta and plenty of the roasted fennel.