Today we had a lovely piece of roast pork. It was quite a large leg joint roasted on a bed of vegetables (and apple). It was lovely and tender and covered in crispy crackling.
My secret to lovely crisp crackling is as follows. Ensure that the surface of the skin is dry, if it is wet then you will get soggy crackling. Now some cookbooks tell you to rub some salt into the skin. This is not only not necessary, it also makes the cracking too salty! All it needs to be is dry. I also score the skin, this allows heat to get in and crisp up the crackling as well. Makes it easier to carve as well. My cooking technique is relatively simple, set oven to the highest temperature. Place the pork on some root vegetables (this time I used carrot and parsnip). I do add some olive oil onto the skin of the pork. Once I have put the pork in the oven, I turn the temperature down to about 160℃.
This will ensure you have nice and crispy crackling.
Cook for about an hour per kilogramme, I baste the pork about every 40-50 minutes and add more chopped vegetables and chopped apple to the pan when there is about an hour to go; the veg can be onion, carrots, mushrooms and parsnips. Put it in too early it will burn.
When the pork is cooked, allow to sit for a while to rest.
I served the pork with roast potatoes, roasted parsnips and some steamed vegetables.
I made a delicious gravy using the cooking juices and beef stock.
