Roast Pork

[natalie_1982]

I'm no Nigella but I can cook basic normal things from scratch. I have cooked roasts before but used the cheaters ready stuffed joints that you just bung in the oven and then some veggies and roasties. A few weeks ago I did beef and it was really nice (me, modest?!). However, now I want to do roast pork. How long do I cook it for and do you have any tips to make it nice and yummy, but keep it simple cos it's my first time!

[LordyGeordie]

The cooking times for pork obviously vary according to size of the joint but are about the same for a well done joint of beef.

To cook a good pork roast, the secret's to get decent crackling. First off take it out of the cling film or whatever it's packed in a day or so before you cook it. Then dry the skin/crackling with kitchen roll before putting it in the fridge. by taking it out of the cling film you help the skin dry out which makes better crackling.

When you come to cook the pork pre-heat your oven to its highest setting. Score the skin in strips about 1/4 inch thick, a stanley knife works well for this. rub salt into the skin.

put the roast into the oven and immediately turn down to gas mark 3 or 4 or its electrical equivalent. cook for as long as needed and then bring it out the oven to rest for about 15-20 minnutes before serving - hey presto, top quality pork.

for a decent gravy cook cut an onion and an apple in half and sit the pork on top of them when it goes into the oven. when the pork's pour some dry cider into the baking tray with the onion and apple, with some fresh thyme and a pork stock cube, boil for a few minutes, then push the lot through a sieve into a small pan. stir in a small amount of horseradish, thicken the mixture and serve. job done.

Remember though, the most important thing with pork is the quality of the meat. the stuff you get from the supermarket is generally bland, tasteless cr@p, buy pork from a decent butcher, and check out where it's come from. organic is not as important as free range. Good pork should be a light brown colour rather than almost white when cooked, it should have quite a bit of fat under the skin which helps keep the joint moist while cooking and gives it a lovley sweet flavour.

enjoy!

[natalie_1982]

Wow, thanks very much it souunds great.

I have bought the pork from a butchers, the meat tends to taste more like meat when I get it from there!

[nickmo]

All Lordy G says, again.

But please patronise your local farmers' market where you will get the best of produce not just the main ingredient but also the rest of the trimmings. http://www.farmersmarkets.net has a searchable list. The markets are fun, interesting and not expensive compared to supermarkets. A local butcher or greengrocers etc will be the alternative as you may have found. You have to wonder what the s/markets are doing when they try to sell you beef for roasting that has pork fat wrapped around it to give it flavour!

[woofgang]

My mother in law has a no fail way with crackling. She roasts the joint then if the crackling isn't crispy, she slices it off the meat in one piece and puts it under te grill, works every time!

[country_boy]

I do the same for the crackling - dry, score and rub salt in. I usually roast at 220 for 20 mins and then knock it down for the rest. If the crackling isn't looking like it is gonna crisp up nicely, I slice it underneath apart from one corner and let it hang off the meat (usually propped up on a spud) so you get plenty of heat under it. I like to rub some sage and pepper in first too.

[Spelling Bee]

Tip from my farm shop butcher....

add lots of freshly ground black pepper when you 'salt' the crackling.

Did it last weekend.....yum!

As a change from apple sauce, try pear. Either add pear to the stuffing or just puree, no sugar required.