roast loin of pork

classic juicy roast pork with perfect crackling

for 6

This is based on a Michel Roux recipe, which is the best I've found for classic juicy roast pork with perfect crackling. You will need a piece of loin from a good outdoor raised source. It should be chined and the rind deeply scored.

• serve with roast potatoes, kale and carrots (for colour), and gravy made as part of the recipe below

1. 1x 6-bone chined loin of pork, at room temperature (ask the butcher to chine it for you)
2. salt and pepper, to taste
3. filling, comprising (use fresh equivalent if available):

• 2 tsp dried rosemary
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
• 2 tsp chilli flakes
• zest only lemon

4. 2 carrots, peeled
5. 6 sticks celery
6. 1 large onion
7. 5 tbsp ground nut oil
8. 50ml madeira or similar
9. 75g quince paste, roughly chopped (or veg stock)

1. Mix together the filling ingredients to form a paste (you may need to add a little lemon juice or wine to bind them together).   
   With a sharp knife cut between the fat and the meat on both sides and insert the filling.  This can be done in advance (eg kept in the fridge overnight - but bring back to room temperature before the later actions).
2. Preheat the oven to 210C (fan).
3. Place the pork joint on a trivet or cooling rack set over a heatproof bowl. Carefully ladle or pour boiling hot water (about 500ml) over the rind of the pork, it should visibly shrink back. Pat the skin dry. Season the joint all over with salt and pepper on the flesh side.
4. Roughly chop the carrots, celery and onion into quarters and arrange in the bottom of a roasting tray.
5. Place the pork on a trivet over the vegetables.  Drizzle over a little oil.
6. Roast in the hot oven for about 10 minutes, or until the pork is coloured on the outside. Reduce the temperature to 170C and continue cooking for approximately 50 minutes, or longer if you prefer your meat well done.
7. When the pork has cooked, remove it from the oven and carefully cut off the skin and fat in one piece. Wrap the meat tightly in a double layer of foil and leave on a plate in a warm place until ready to carve and eat.
8. Place the skin on a small roasting tray and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes, or until it has become crisp and brittle.
9. To make the gravy, place the roasting tray that the pork and vegetables were cooked in over a medium heat. Spoon off any excess fat and discard. Add the madeira and scrape the bottom of the tin with a wooden spoon to remove as much of the caramelised, cooked bits as possible. Add the quince paste/stock and pour in a splash of boiling water. Stir until dissolved.
10. To remove the vegetables, strain the gravy through a sieve into a clean pan. Really squeeze the veg as the small fibres that pass through will help thicken the gravy. Keep your gravy warm until ready to serve, adding the resting juices from the pork meat just before serving.
11. Unwrap the meat and carve a chop per person to serve with the crackling, potatoes, kale and carrots, and the gravy.

roast gammon with rhubarb chutney

spicy moist gammon perfect for a special dinner 

 

For 6 (or fewer with plenty left over for sandwiches, ham and eggs etc)

The roast gammon is based on several recipes including Mary Berry's and the Hairy Bikers'. This recipe also makes a great ham stock for use in soups later.

The chutney (Gregg Wallace recipe) can be made in advance and makes about 2 full jam jars. You will only need half or less for 6 people but it can be stored in sterilized jars and kept in the fridge.

• Serve with the chutney, a reduction (see method) and roast potatoes and greens

For the gammon

• 1.5 kg unsmoked boneless gammon joint
• 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 stems celery, finely chopped (about 150g in all)
• 1 tsp each powdered cloves, allspice, ginger (or fressh grated equivalent)
• 350 ml smooth orange juice (or Mary Berry recommends ginger beer but I haven't tried it yet)
• water
• whole cloves to decorate (optional)

For the rhubarb chutney

• 500g rhubarb cut into 3cm chunks
• 200g soft brown sugar
• 3 onions, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 100g tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tsp dried thyme (or 2 tbsp fresh, chopped)
• 200ml red wine vinegar
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves

For the glaze

• 4 tbsp syrup
• 4 tbsp Dijon or grainy mustard
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1. Place the gammon joint into a heavy lidded saucepan not much bigger than the joint. Add the onions, carrots, celery, spices and orange juice and top up with water until gammon is covered.
2. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer gently for 1½ hours (30 minutes per 500g for other sizes). Turn the gammon over halfway through the cooking time.
3. Meanwhile, place the rhubarb, sugar and a splash of water in a pan and cook on a medium heat until the rhubarb is soft. Stir frequently. Add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, thyme, vinegar, lemon juice and zest and the spices. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring occasionally, then simmer for about two hours, stirring frequently, until the chutney is thick.
4. Remove the gammon from the water and allow to cool for 15 minutes (or you can do this well in advance and leave it resting in the stock for an even fuller flavour).
5. (Reserve the cooking liquid, taste and adjust. It makes a great stock for pea/lentil and ham soup. It can be strained or left with the reduced vegetables still in it – you can also add some of the leftover gammon, finely chopped.)
6. Preheat the oven to 180C Fan and line a large roasting tin with kitchen foil.
7. If the joint has rind still attached, remove it with a small knife leaving as much of the fat intact as possible. Score the fat in a diamond pattern, and push a clove into the centre of each 'X'.
8. Place the gammon into the foil-lined roasting tray, folding up to cover the meat but leaving the fat exposed, to contain any roasting juices.
9. For the glaze, mix the ingredients together and brush half of it evenly over the gammon, including sides of the joint. Roast in the centre of the oven for 10 minutes, then take the joint out and brush again with the rest of the glaze. Return the gammon to the oven for a further 10– 15 minutes, rotating the tin so that the opposite side of the gammon faces the back of the oven.
10. The gammon is ready when the fat on top is glossy and golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if the top begins to look too brown. Remove the gammon from the oven and set aside to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
11. Pour any juices that have collected in the kitchen foil into a small pan, and warm through gently, or make a reduction based on some of the stock, with red wine and a little vinegar.
12. Carve thick slices of the gammon and spoon over the reduction. Serve with the warm rhubarb chutney.