Best Pork And Crackling Recipes

PORK AND CRACKLING

Steps:

• Lay out your pork on a board and rub some salt and 1 teaspoon chopped rosemary into the scored lines, trying to get this into every bit by pushing and rubbing in. In a pestle and mortar smash up the fennel seeds, then the garlic and remaining chopped rosemary, and rub this into the meat ? not the skin, or it will burn. Place in a large roasting tray with the balsamic vinegar, bay and olive oil. Leave for about 1/2 hour to marinate.
• Meanwhile, preheat your oven to its highest temperature and brown the bones. Rub the skin of the pork with lots of sea salt ? this will help puff it up and dry it out. Place the pork directly on the bars at the top of the oven. Finally add the browned bones and vegetables to the leftover balsamic marinade, add 570ml, 1 pint water and put into the oven directly under the pork. As the pork cooks all the goodness drips from it into the tray. This liquid will then become your gravy. You also get quite charred bar marks on the base of the pork.
• The pork will take about 1 hour to cook. After 20 minutes turn the temperature down to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Once the pork is cooked, remove it from the oven on the rack and place on a piece of foil to save any juices. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Finish off any vegetables that you are going to serve with it and make a gravy out of the juices in the tray which was underneath the pork.
• Put the bones, the liquid and the vegetables into a large pan. Add some water to the tray that contained the bones and vegetables, as there will be some Marmite-like, sticky stuff on the bottom to the tray which is very tasty. Reboil the water, scrape off all the goodness from the bottom of the tray and then pour everything into the pan. Bring to the boil, shaking occasionally, remove any oil, grease or scum from the top, then pass the contents through a sieve, discarding all the vegetables and bones. You can reduce and then correct the seasoning, to taste.

REALLY SLOW ROAST PORK SHOULDER WITH CRISPY, CRISPY CRACKLING AND GARLIC ROAST POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Grind the fennel seeds, peppercorns and salt in a spice grinder. Place the pork shoulder into a roasting pan and cut the rind into cross hatches. Rub the spice mixture into the meat and put it in the oven for 4 hours.
• Arrange the potatoes around and under the meat and put it back into the oven for 1 hour.
• Now add the garlic, shallots and carrots around the pork. If your roasting pan is not large enough to accommodate all the vegetables, place them in a separate roasting pan. Cook for 30 minutes, then add the pears. They don't need much cooking time and will disintegrate if cooked too long. Cook for another 30 minutes
• When the meat is tender and flakes with a fork, remove it and the vegetables and keep warm. This will give the pork time to rest and become more tender. If the pork rind is not crispy, put it under the broiler for a few minutes until it is really crunchy and crispy.
• To make the gravy, pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the roasting pan. Stir the flour into the roasting pan, add the wine, put the roasting pan onto a burner over medium-high heat and cook until the wine is reduced by half. If not using the wine, do this with the stock. Now add the stock and scrape off any bits of meat and vegetable on the bottom of the pan. Taste and add any seasoning if you think it needs it.
• If the gravy is too thin, make a paste in a bowl with 1 tablespoon and 1 tablespoon flour. Add some of the hot gravy to the small bowl and stir. Add this to the hot stock, stirring constantly and bring to a boil. The gravy will thicken slightly.
• If your gravy is too thick, just add a touch more stock. Serve the meat and vegetables with the gravy.
• This dish struggles to make it to the table as the family descends upon it while I am trying to finish the gravy! Use any leftovers for pork sandwiches with some crunchy pickle.

PERFECT ROAST PORK AND CRACKLING.

Steps:

• Thorougly defrost the joint the day before cooking. You can use a supermarket joint, which contrary to some opinions, works just perfectly. Make sure you unwrap it to defrost it, to discourage it from becoming too moist.
• If the skin has not been scored, do so with a sharp Stanley Knife in long strokes about 1cm or less apart all over the skin.
• Pour boiling water from a kettle all over the joint as it sits skin side up. This will cause the skin to contract and go pale. Once done, dry immediately with kitchen paper.
• Rub salt into the skin thoroughly, then wrap in a clean dry tea towell and put into the fridge overnight.
• In the morning, unwrap the meat (remember to put the tea towell directly into the wash) and rub the skin with a small amount of butter all over.
• Put the joint into a low oven at 160 deg C for 3 hours. I find this just right for a larger joint of around 2kg, however if you want to check if your meat is ready with a meat thermometer, the internal temperature should be 60-70 deg C.
• Take the joint out to rest, and immediately separate the crackling from the meat in one piece and put it onto a small baking tray. Tap the crackling with a fork, if it sounds like its not entirely crisp (and it usually isn't at this stage) pop the tray back into the oven and turn the temperature up to 200-220 deg C for 10-20 minutes until crisp.
• Use a sharp knife to cut the crackling into strips for serving. Lovely served as a traditional English roast with roast potatoes, baked apple wedges and vegetables.

PORK LOIN AND CRACKLING WITH HASSEL BACK POTATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
• Score the rind, using long, parallel slits 1/8 to 1/4-inch apart across the width of the loin; be careful to cut only halfway to the flesh (see Cook's Note**). Rub the rind with the salt, ensuring that the salt is rubbed well into the slits. Rub the rind with 1/2 of the olive oil.
• Flip the loin over and rub the flesh side with the remaining olive oil. Place the garlic, thyme, and rosemary up against the flesh. Using butcher's twine, tie the herbs to the loin.
• Place the loin on a rack in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and arrange the potatoes at the bottom of the roasting rack. Reduce the heat to 425 degrees F. Return the roast to the oven to cook for 1 additional hour or until an instant-read thermometer poked into the center of the loin reaches 150 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let the loin rest for 30 minutes; the internal temperature will continue to rise about 10 degrees F, and the loin will finish cooking while it's resting (see Cook's Note***).
• Slice the "crackling" (crunch skin) off in 1 piece and cut into 1/4-inch strips. Slice the pork loin into 1/4-inch slices. Serve the pork loin warm with Cracklings, Hassel Back Potatoes, and Apple Chutney.
• Place a potato in the palm of a wooden spoon. Use a sharp knife to make cuts 3/4 of the way down the width of each potato about 1/8-inch apart. Toss the potatoes with olive oil, 1 tablespoon salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl.
• Place the potatoes in the bottom of a roasting pan, evenly spaced apart. Cook underneath the roast during the last hour of cooking, until fork tender. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
• In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and 1 tablespoon of salt and cover. Saute until onions are translucent. Add the apple cider and increase to high heat. Reduce the cider until nearly evaporated. Add the vinegar and 1 cup sugar; stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the apples and star anise. Cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes.
• Remove the cover and continue to cook until thickened, about 10 minutes; stirring frequently. Add the 1/3 cup of remaining sugar. Remove star anise and mash until smooth. Transfer to a plate to cool.
• Serve warm or at room temperature with pork, chicken, or curried dishes.