Directions:

1. Start by evaluating pork and trimming as necessary. Ideally you want a layer of fat just under ½ inch thick. If you've bought a separate pork loin and pork belly (as described above), drape belly (skin-side up) around pork loin to get a sense of how it will fit. It doesn't have to be perfect, but if it extends more than ½ inch over ends of loin, trim it down. If there's a gap on the underside because belly doesn't reach all the way around, that's fine.

2. Arrange belly, whether separate or attached, so it sits skin-side up on a stable work surface. Using a box cutter, utility knife or other razor-sharp blade, carefully (but firmly) score rind in criss-crossing parallel lines about ½ inch apart, cutting through rind and just into fat (about ¼ inch deep) without cutting through to meat.

3. In a small bowl combine garlic, rosemary, sage, thyme, fennel, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Flip belly part of roast so it's skin-side down, and rub seasoning over entire surface of loin and on inside of belly.

4. Assemble roast by wrapping belly (skin-side out) around loin. Secure roast with kitchen string, tying loops at 1- to 2-inch intervals.

5. Season surface of roast lightly but evenly with salt and pepper, rubbing some into score marks.

6. Set roast on a tray and refrigerate, uncovered, 48 hours. Let pork sit at room temperature 1-2 hours before roasting.

7. Position a rack in lower third of oven and heat to 500 degrees. Place pork seam-side down on a roasting rack set in a roasting pan just large enough to accommodate it. Roast 25 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast registers 140-145 degrees, another 2-3 hours.

8. Transfer roast to a carving board, preferably one with a trough. Let rest at least 25 minutes. (The roast can easily sit at room temperature for an hour or more.)

9. Carve into ¼- to ½-inch-thick slices, removing strings as you go and doing your best to give each serving a bit of crackling rind. If rind is too tough to slice through easily, remove it in larger chunks and transfer it to a second cutting board, where you can chop it into pieces to serve alongside the sliced roast. Use leftover meat for sandwiches, on good crusty bread.