Roast Pork with Perfect Crackling and Mash Recipe

Directions

• Firstly, leave your pork out of the fridge to reach room temperature for about an hour or so and preheat your oven as hot as it will go – usually 240c.
• To prepare your pork, if it isn’t already scored, cut the fat in lines with a very sharp knife being careful not to cut the string.
• Liberally grind plenty of sea salt and some black pepper onto the scored fat and rub in well.
• Quarter an onion and cut a carrot into large chunks to use as a bed for the pork.
• Now lay your pork on top of the veg in a roasting tin.
• When the oven has reached optimum temperature, place the pork in, uncovered, and time it for 30 minutes. This allows the fat to blister and crisp up.
• After the 30 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 180 C, cover the pork with foil and cook for a further 2 hours. At this point, prick the potatoes with a sharp knife and put in the oven with the pork.
• Remove just the potatoes after about 1.5 hours, cut them in half and scoop out the middles, pushing it through a sieve.
• When all the potatoes are sieved, add a splash of milk, a knob of butter, salt, pepper, a little grated cheese and a dash of mustard (cheese and mustard optional).
• Mix vigorously with a fork until all the ingredients are well blended. Prepare and cook your other optional vegetables.
• When the pork has done its further 2 hours cooking remove it and leave to rest.
• To make your gravy prepare 350ml stock.
• Remove the pork, carrot and onion from the tin. pour the a little boiling water into the tin and scrape off the remnants of the pork from the tin. Add this to the stock.
• Melt a knob of butter in a saucepan, taking care not to burn it. add a tbsp of plain flour and whisk, cooking for a minute, this prevents the gravy from tasting floury.
• Now pour the stock into the butter/flour mix, whisking constantly until this thickens.
• Slice your pork and serve with the mash, gravy and your chosen vegetables.