We have already shared our Shoulder of lamb with gremolata topping which is over the top moist and tender, but for those that do not like lamb, here is my favourite recipe for a pork roast with crackling. It is cooked with some spice and citrus, just right for the cooler weather.
Serves 4-6, Prep time: 20 minutes, Cooking time: 3½ hours
INGREDIENTS
PORK
- 2kg pork shoulder, boned and rolled, preferably organic
- 1 Birds Eye chilli or Thai red chilli
- 2 onions, thickly sliced
- sprigs of thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 pinch of salt
SPICE RUB
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 tbsp of cumin seeds
- 2 grapefruit, zested and juiced
- 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 tbsp of light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp of salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
GRAPEFRUIT DRIZZLE
- 1 grapefruit, juiced
- 1 Birds Eye chilli or Thai red chilli, very finely chopped
- 2 spring onions, green part sonly, very finely chopped
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2
- Pat the pork dry with kitchen paper and score through the skin in a diamond pattern with a sharp knife (or have your butcher to do this for you)
- In a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic with the salt and cumin seeds. Add the grapefruit zest (save the juice) and pound again, then mix in the black pepper, sweet paprika and sugar. Rub this mixture all over the pork, making sure to get into any gaps in the skin
- Place the pork in a roasting tin and add the scotch bonnet chilli, onions, thyme and bay leaves. Mix the grapefruit juice with 200ml water and pour into the tin
- Sprinkle a little extra salt over the pork, wrap everything tightly with foil and roast in the oven for 3½ hours, before removing the foil and roasting for a further hour, or until the top is covered with crisp, golden crackling and the meat is very tender
- Make the drizzle an hour before you want to serve the pork by combining everything in a bowl and mixing well (the citrus juice will mellow the heat of the chilli and the onion during this time). Serve with the roast pork and crisp crackling