RECIPE: MR G’S PORK ROAST

Today’s offering is a pork roast from Mr G. To be honest, I don’t cook western style roast in my home because Mr G does such a good job that it does not merit me doing it. Another thing to his credit is that his crackling is always so crunchy! This is how he makes his roast.

Ingredients
2 kg pork shoulder – de-boned and skin left intact. Score the skin, i.e. cut shallow slits on the skin, about 2 cm apart
Oil
Coarse sea salt
Water
4 cloves garlic – cut into thick wedges

Stuffing:
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic – minced
1 onion – minced
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
Salt and coarse ground black pepper – to taste
2 tbsp or more of port or make some garlic water from 1 to 2 cloves grated garlic, mixed in 2 tbsp water

Method
Mix all stuffing ingredients, except port/garlic water in a bowl. Gradually add port/garlic water to the dry ingredients until it holds together.

Fill the pork’s bone cavity evenly with the stuffing mixture. Tie with kitchen twine.

Insert the garlic wedges randomly in the slits, by pushing it in with a small pointy paring knife. Rub the pork skin with some cooking oil and then with the coarse salt (about 1 to2 tbsp). This helps the salt adhere.

Put about 2 cm oil and 1 cup water in a roasting pan, with a roasting rack sitting in the middle of the pan. Place the pork on the roasting rack, and insert it into the middle shelf of the oven. Roast at 180°c for 1 hour.

At the one hour mark, check to see if the skin is crisping. If it is crispy, cover with foil and turn down the oven to 160°c. At this stage, add your ‘hard’ vegetables (carrot, potatoes or pumpkin) to tray. Around the 20 to 30 min mark, turn your vegetables over. Cook for around 20 to 30 mins or until vegetables are brown and meat is cooked. The meat is cooked when the juices (if pricked with a roasting fork) run clear.

Lift meat and leave to rest for 10 mins. Lift vegetables out of the pan into a platter lined with kitchen absorbent paper. Keep warm.

Whilst meat is resting, make the gravy (recipe HERE), and serve the pork with the roasted vegetables or other vegetables such as peas, cauliflower or brussel sprouts along with cheese sauce (recipe HERE).