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.