Italian Style Roast Pork With Crispy Crackling Recipes

PORK ROAST WITH CRISPY PORK CRACKLING

Steps:

• Dry skin: Pat the skin dry with paper towels. If time permits, leave in the fridge uncovered overnight (even 1 hr helps). If not, pat extra well.
• Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan).
• Season flesh: Sprinkle pork flesh with 1 1/2 tsp salt, all the pepper and all fennel seeds and 1 tbsp olive oil. Rub into flesh, right into all the crevices and cracks.
• Salt skin: Flip pork, drizzle skin with 1 tsp oil, then rub all over with fingers. Sprinkle all over with remaining 1 1/2 tsp salt, taking care to get even coverage. Un-salted patches will not become bubbly crackling, it will be a hard flat sheet.
• Garlic & onion bed: Place halved garlic bulbs and onion in roasting pan. Place pork skin side up on top of them.
• Wine: Carefully pour wine into the pan, being sure not to wet the skin. Transfer to oven.
• Lower oven: Immediately turn oven down to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan).
• Slow roast: Roast for 2 1/2 hours.
• Level at 1 1/2 hours: Check pork after 1 1/2 hours to see if the pork is warped and the skin's overall surface is significantly unlevelled. If so, adjust to make the skin surface as level as possible using balls of foil and moving large dislodged pork pieces to the side (key tip for crispy crackling, Note 3). Then return to oven for the remaining 1 hour.
• Check pan & salt on skin: If pan is drying out, add some water. If there are bald patches on the skin without salt (eg it fell off), spray lightly with oil spray (or brush lightly with oil) then sprinkle with salt. (Remember, salt = bubbly skin!)
• Increase heat: Turn oven up to 250°C/485°F (all oven types), or as high as it will go if your oven won't go this high.
• Make skin crisp: Return pork to oven for 30 minutes, rotating pan as needed, until skin is crisp and bubbly all over. If needed, use foil patches, secured with water soaked toothpicks, to cover parts that are done and keep crisping up remaining patches.
• Rest: Transfer pork to serving platter, tent loosely with foil (don't worry, crackling stays super-crisp) and rest for 20 minutes (stays warm up to 1 hour). Then slice using a serrated knife.
• Serve with gravy. Don't pour gravy over crackling - pour it off to the side! See note for reheating.

ITALIAN-STYLE ROAST PORK WITH CRISPY CRACKLING

Steps:

• Pound the garlic, bay, pepper, 1 tsp sea salt and 1 tbsp of the fennel seeds using a pestle and mortar, then stir in 1 tbsp oil. Place the pork, skin-side up, in a clean sink and pour over a kettleful of boiling water (this tightens the skin - the first step towards great crackling). Drain, pat dry and place, skin-side down, on a chopping board. Rub the garlicky paste all over it, then roll up the loin and tie it at intervals with kitchen string. Arrange the onion and lemon in the centre of a roasting tin and sit the pork on top, skin-side up. Rub the rind with the remaining salt and leave at room temperature, uncovered, for 1 hr.
• Heat oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Rub the skin of the pork with the remaining oil. Lightly crush the remaining fennel seeds and scatter over the meat. Roast for 30 mins, then turn the heat down to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and continue to roast for 1 hr 20 mins. Remove the pork, cover loosely and leave to rest for 30 mins. If your crackling isn't crisp, pop the joint under a hot grill for a few mins, but watch it as it will burn very easily.
• Meanwhile, make the gravy. Tip away all but 1 tbsp of fat from the tin and put on the hob. Add the flour and mix with the onion and lemon, scraping any bits from the bottom. Pour in the Marsala and let it bubble, then gradually add the stock and any of the resting juices, and simmer gently for 8-10 mins. Season, if needed, and strain through a sieve before serving.