slow roast shoulder of pork
Gloriously crisp crackling and meltingly soft meat to die for.
serves two
1.2-1.5kg bone-in shoulder of pork
sea salt crystals
1 onion, quartered
1 dsp flour
125ml cider or wine
125ml chicken stock
Score the skin of the joint all over (your butcher will do this for you). Pour boiling water over the skin and then drain and pat dry with kitchen roll. This is to open up the scored skin and so help you get great crackling. Rub sea salt crystals into the the slashes you have made. Roast at 220C/200C fan for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 170C/150C fan and cover the pork with a double layer of tinfoil. Return to the oven for 3 hours. After an hour, throw the onion quarters into the tray and drizzle with a little oil (the onion will add colour to the gravy later). When the 3 hours are up take the tray out of the oven, remove the tinfoil (keep it for resting the joint later) and transfer the roast into a new tray and roast for a further hour*. Spoon out the fat from the first tray, leaving the juices and sticky bits. Place this pan over a low heat, sprinkle the flour over and stir for a few seconds. Pour in the cider and stock and bring to a bubbling simmer, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon. Simmer for a few minutes, check for seasoning, then strain into a small pan, to re-heat when your roast is ready. That's your gravy. At the end of the hour, remove the joint from the oven, cover with the saved tin foil and let it rest while you get whatever vegetables you're having with it ready. If the crackling needs a final nudge towards achieving perfection, remove it from the joint, flatten, and place under a high grill for a minute or so, never taking your eyes off it - you don't want it to burn.
* If you're having roast potatoes with the pork, add them to the roasting tray at this point. Then, while the pork is resting, you can raise the heat in the oven to finish them off.
1.2-1.5kg bone-in shoulder of pork
sea salt crystals
1 onion, quartered
1 dsp flour
125ml cider or wine
125ml chicken stock
Score the skin of the joint all over (your butcher will do this for you). Pour boiling water over the skin and then drain and pat dry with kitchen roll. This is to open up the scored skin and so help you get great crackling. Rub sea salt crystals into the the slashes you have made. Roast at 220C/200C fan for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 170C/150C fan and cover the pork with a double layer of tinfoil. Return to the oven for 3 hours. After an hour, throw the onion quarters into the tray and drizzle with a little oil (the onion will add colour to the gravy later). When the 3 hours are up take the tray out of the oven, remove the tinfoil (keep it for resting the joint later) and transfer the roast into a new tray and roast for a further hour*. Spoon out the fat from the first tray, leaving the juices and sticky bits. Place this pan over a low heat, sprinkle the flour over and stir for a few seconds. Pour in the cider and stock and bring to a bubbling simmer, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon. Simmer for a few minutes, check for seasoning, then strain into a small pan, to re-heat when your roast is ready. That's your gravy. At the end of the hour, remove the joint from the oven, cover with the saved tin foil and let it rest while you get whatever vegetables you're having with it ready. If the crackling needs a final nudge towards achieving perfection, remove it from the joint, flatten, and place under a high grill for a minute or so, never taking your eyes off it - you don't want it to burn.
* If you're having roast potatoes with the pork, add them to the roasting tray at this point. Then, while the pork is resting, you can raise the heat in the oven to finish them off.