Jamies Epic Roast Pork Recipes

6-HOUR SLOW-ROASTED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Remove the pork from the fridge for 1 hour before you want to cook it, to let it come up to room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7.
• Place the pork on a clean work surface, skin-side up. Get yourself a small sharp knife and make scores about 1cm apart through the skin into the fat, but not so deep that you cut into the meat. If the joint is tied, try not to cut through the string.
• Rub sea salt right into all the scores you've just made, pulling the skin apart a little if you need to. Brush any excess salt off the surface then turn it over. Season the underside of the meat with a few pinches of salt and black pepper.
• Place the pork, skin-side up, in a roasting tray and roast for 30 minutes, or until the skin has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling. At this point, turn the heat down to 170°C/325°F/gas 3, cover the pork snugly with a double layer of tin foil, pop back in the oven and roast for a further 4½ hours.
• Meanwhile, halve the onions, carrots and celery, and break the garlic up into cloves (there's no need to peel them).
• Remove the pork from the oven, take off the foil, and baste the meat with the fat in the bottom of the tray. Carefully transfer to a board, then skim all but 2 tablespoons of excess fat from the tray into a jar, and pop in the fridge for tasty cooking another day.
• Add all the veg, garlic and bay leaves to the tray and stir them into the fat. Place the pork back on top of everything and place back in the oven without the foil to roast for 1 further hour, or until meltingly soft and tender.
• Carefully move the meat to a serving dish, cover again with tin foil and leave to rest while you make the gravy. Spoon away any fat in the tray, then add the stock (or replace with water, if you prefer) and place the tray on the hob.
• Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to scrape up all those lovely sticky tasty bits from the bottom of the tray.
• When you've got a nice, dark gravy, pour it through a sieve into jug using your spoon to really push all the goodness of the veg through the sieve. Season to taste, if needed.
• Serve the pork and crackling with the jug of gravy and all the trimmings - a dollop of apple sauce will finish this off perfectly.

JAMIE'S EPIC ROAST PORK

Steps:

• Put the pork skin in the fridge, uncovered, to dry out while you cook the pork. You'll get double crackling - one from the pork joint and one from the skin.
• Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/gas 9 (full whack).
• To make the flavoured salt, place the fennel, peppercorns and bay in a pestle and mortar and smash the living daylights out of it. Peel in the lemon zest, then pick in the herbs and have another bash. Add the salt and bash again until fine (alternatively whiz in a blender).
• Score the pork fat in a diamond pattern, then rub in 1 tablespoon of flavoured salt with a good drizzle of olive oil, massaging it into all the nooks and crannies.
• Peel the potatoes and parboil in a large pan of salted boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes until softened. Drain and steam dry, then tip into a large baking tray.
• Scrub, top and tail the parsnips and slot them in with the potatoes, then place the tray on the bottom shelf of the oven.
• Place the pork directly on the bars of the oven above the potatoes and parsnips to catch all the tasty juices. Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.
• For the sauce, place a large sheet of non-stick baking paper over a large sheet of tin foil. Place the onion, apple, pear and peach in the middle with a good lug of bourbon, then fold up the edges and twist to make a sealed 'money bag' parcel. Cook in the oven with the pork for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until soft.
• Remove the pork, potatoes and fruit from the oven. Cover the pork with tin foil and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes while you make the crackling. Carefully drain the fat from the potatoes (cool and reserve for another day), and set aside.
• Carefully remove the foil layer from the fruit parcel, then hold the paper bag over a bowl and pierce a hole in it with a sharp knife to release the juice. Squeeze any remaining juice from the fruit, then transfer to a chopping board, roughly chop (discarding the cores, pips and onion skin) and add to the bowl. Leave to cool, then cover and set aside until ready to serve.
• Deseed and clank up the pumpkin into wedges, place into a baking tray and season with salt and pepper.
• Turn the oven back up to full whack. Score the reserved pork skin in a zig-zag fashion and place directly on the bars of the oven. Put the pumpkin underneath and cook for 30 minutes or until golden and crisp.
• To make the gravy, peel and roughly chop the onion, then fry with the minced pork in a large frying pan on a medium heat for 10 minutes, or until golden and soft. Stir in the flour and mustard, then add a good lug of bourbon and flambé, if you like. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until thick and delicious.
• Remove the crackling and pumpkin from the oven. Drain the fat from the pumpkin and discard, then tip the pumpkin into the tray with the other roasted veg and return to the oven to warm through.
• Slice up the ribs and carve the rest of the pork. Bring it all together at the table and serve with the veg, crackling and fruity sauce.