recipe: roast pork shoulder w crackling

roast pork shoulder w crackling

roast pork shoulder low cooked until it's 55C in the middle then cranked up to finish the centre and crisp the crackling . . . OMG melty sticky fatty goodness coated in crispy crunchy salty bliss!

IngredientsMakes: 1160g (4)

1600g		pork shoulder joint
10g		salt

Method

Take pork out of fridge first thing the morning.

If the skin isn't already scored, score it - think carving lines!

Cover the skin w/ salt - or lay it in a bed of salt if it unrolls.

Leave it to come up to room temp for at least 2 hours.

Rinse the salt from the skin and place the joint in a baking tray,

^ this baking tray will be the final resting place for the roast potatoes which will go in to soak in th pork fat & stock after transfering the pork to a tray w/ water & trivet.

Put a temp probe into the deepest part of the pork & place in the oven.

Bake 150C / until probe reads 55C safe side, about 1hour 15mins.

Boil the potatoes, get veg & the sauce on in the meantime.

Prepare a roasting tray w/ a trivet w/ just under a cm of water in the bottom of it.

The smoke point of pork fat / lard is aroun 188-190C, and the water will stop dripping fat smoking the whole kitchen out when you open the oven door! (and keep your oven clean!)

Once the probe gets to the right temp take the meat out & and tranfer it to the tray w/ the trivet.

Turn the oven up to 230C and return the joint back to the oven bottom shelf.

Put the potatoes into the 1st tray which will have loads of pork fat and concentrated pork stock - coat them in it and place them in the top shelf. #bestpotatoesever

Cook until probe hits at least 65C, and the crackling is crisp ~10-15mins.

Take the meat out and let it rest in a warm place.

If you leave the probe in place you will see the temp keep rising as the heat & juices distribute from the outside to the inside of the joint. It should be 70C or above before you carve & serve it.

Turn the oven down to 180C to finish the potatoes.

Serve w/ white onion sauce, apple sauce, roasties & your favourite veg! (coming up! . . . )

If you are in Hereford check out Growing Local on facebook/meta they currently have all sorts of seasonal veg available grown right here in Hereford using organic practices!
Sign up for veg box here / or for wholesale here.