Ingredients
Serves 6
2kg joint of pork - leg, shoulder, belly or loin with skin on
Flake salt
3 Granny Smith apples
1 tablespoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon salt flakes
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
Method
Preheat oven to 220ºC.
For the crackling: There are several theories for perfect crackling and for many cooks their method seems to work and they will stick to it - which is fine. Keep in mind some basic ideas. Firstly rinse the skin under cold water and thoroughly pat dry with paper towel - moisture is crackling's worst enemy. Make sure the skin is scored every ½cm and through the fat even if it means re-scoring what the butcher has already done. Rub with salt and leave on the bench covered in cling wrap for 30 minutes; the salt will extract excess moisture from the skin. Use paper towel, again to remove the excess moisture. DO NOT rub with oil as the pork fat is enough to self baste the skin. Sprinkle again with salt, this time lightly and bake as per the instructions given. Some cooks rub the skin with lemon juice and salt, I’ve tried this method as well, but I also let it stand to extract moisture before baking.
Place the pork on a trivet or small cake rack and place in the roasting pan. Place the pan on a middle shelf in the oven. Roast for 30 minutes at this high temperature, reduce the heat to 170ºC for another 1¼ hours.
Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.
For the apples: Peel the apples and cut each into 3 or 4 rounds. Use a star cutter to cut shapes. Mix the spices, salt and pepper together in a bowl and rub into the apples. Melt butter in a pan and sauté apples over a medium heat until they soften slightly but still hold their shape and are crunchy in the centre. Serve with the roast pork.
Hints and Tips
If for whatever reason the pork crackling doesn’t work, remove the skin, cover the roast with foil to keep it warm and place the crackling between two pieces of paper towel and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Allow to cool for a couple more minutes before breaking into pieces.
It is important to use a good salt for this dish. Table salt or cooking salt are too harsh and bitter in flavour and it is therefore recommended to use a quality flake or sea salt whenever possible. If using a flake salt it is a good idea to crush the salt in a mortar and pestle to make it fine grained so it really gets into the skin.
When roasting meats, pork included, bring the meat up to room temperature for a more even cooking of the meat. If you can imagine a piece of meat straight from the fridge and into the oven would need to heat up before it starts to cook. Which would mean the outside would be cooking whilst the inside is still cold. By the time the inside is cooked the outer part is dried out and over cooked. If you plan on cooking roasts often then invest in a meat thermometer.