Pork with Crispy Crackling - Every Time

So many supermarkets sell pork joints without the skin - Why?  I've no idea as pork just isn't the same without it.  

Pork can be quite dry if cooked wrongly and the nice bit of fat with the skin is, in my opinion, needed to keep the pork succulent - there's a fancy word for you!

Perfect crispy crackling is so very easy to do. 

 The vegetables act as a trivet and they don't all need to go to waste - you can make a nice gravy with them.

Cured Pork Loin with a Madeira and Honey Glaze

The perfect glaze for pork loin or gammon especially at Christmas.
So very easy to do, yet if you were to buy it like this already done in a supermarket they'd charge a fortune for it.  I used a nice piece of cured pork loin. 

Cut a criss cross pattern just through the fat.  The mixture of brown sugar, runny honey and Madeira adds a lovely sticky glaze.

Roast Pork with Crackling

Roast pork with the crackling to me equals double yum.
Now I know the crackling isn't going to do me a bit of good - but I love it!

I always use a meat thermometer when cooking meat or chicken,

then you can't go wrong. 

Apple sauce, in my opinion just has to be served with roast pork.

Perfect crackling every time.

Then you need, proper roast potatoes, crisp and crunchy but soft on the inside.

No messing about is needed to cook them, no fancy ideas of putting anything on them such as flour or semolina as some people do.

Just potatoes roasted to perfection.

Roasting in Goose or Duck fat is excellent - you can see my post on the perfect roast potato here.

 

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Perfect Roast Pork

Remove all packaging if any from the pork joint and using a very sharp knife, score the skin in even spaces of about 8mm apart.  

Now leave the joint to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.  Dry the skin with kitchen paper and rub the skin of the joint with a little sea salt.

It is vital that your oven is pre-heated first.
Pork needs to be cooked at a medium heat 180C/350F/Gas 4 for the first half of cooking.
Then increase the temperature to 200C/400F/Gas 6 for the second half of cooking (this helps crisp up the crackling).
Cook for 30 minutes per 500g plus an extra 30 minutes

You really should have a meat thermometer to be sure your meat is cooked through. There are two varieties available - one you insert in the thickest part of the raw joint and cook until the desired internal temperature is reached.

The kind that I prefer is inserted into the cooked joint after roasting.


Recommended temperatures for cooking pork are:
Medium 70C (it must maintain this temperature for two minutes)
Well done 80C (it must maintain this temperature for 30 seconds)
*Remember to take always the temperature from the centre of the meat.
Cover the pork loosely with kitchen foil and leave it to rest for at least 20 minutes to half an hour before carving. Serve with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and apple sauce.