If you've ever been lucky enough to eat porchetta in Italy, you'll know what we mean. Tender juicy pork that's been stuffed with aromatic herbs and roasted until falling apart and busting with flavour, it's one of THE best ways to enjoy roast pork.
Now we can't all roast an entire rolled pig on a spit - as Paul West does this week on River Cottage Australia (If you missed the show you can catch up ) - but tender pork packed with flavour can be be yours. Whether it's tender porchetta (no spit required) or a joint from a well-raised pig roasted in a home oven and covered with crackling, here's how to nail it.
If you love those dark, chewy deeply caramelised edges on your pork roast.... is for you. A glazed pork shoulder gets an initial blast in the oven then cooks at a low temperature for 8-10 hours. "The next morning, we woke in a cloud of garlic, sugar, and pork aroma — like bacon on steroids. The surface of the roast was burnished and crisp, and when I went at it with two forks, the meat virtually fell apart," says Merrill Stubbs of this overnight magic.
Source: Ten Speed Press
The secret to get ? The day before you want to cook the pork, use a sharp knife to score the skin at 1 cm intervals, then place the pork onto a tray in the fridge, uncovered. "Moisture in the skin is the enemy of great crackling and the low humidity environment of the fridge will draw the moisture out," Paul explains.
The pork you start with matters too. "I thought that I knew what pork tasted like, that was until I raised and killed my first pig on the farm. The difference in flavour was akin to the gulf between bitter and sweet, and once you have tried pork that has been bred for flavour and lived a life full of grass and sunshine, there is no going back to its grey, dry and factory-produced counterpart," Paul says. "I can’t stress enough the importance of finding a high-quality producer when it comes to pork. It’s undoubtedly more expensive, so is best treated as an occasional treat."
Fresh, well-raised Aussie pork makes for the best loin roast. Source: Sharyn Cairns
There are several stages here - marinating, frying and roasting - but it makes for pork with flavour and good crackling.
Source: Alan Benson
Porchetta is rolled, spiced pork with crackling that, put simply, just makes you happy, says Maria Pasquale, author of the I Heart Rome blog and book. It takes four hours of cooking to achieve this tender, rich meat and it's worth every minute.
Porchetta Source: Smith Street Books
Matty Matheson's . It's super juicy and packed with herbs and other good things to give it flavour. But what you're probably noticing more than anything else is THAT CRACKLING. , with all the tips.
Source: It's Suppertime / SBS Viceland
This Filipino roast pairs crackling-topped pork with pineapple and pickled green mango.
Roasted pork belly with pickled green mangospo Source: Derek Swalwell
And if you're after the ultimate pulled pork...
Watch as Tom Kerridge explains how to make outstanding pulled pork, get the recipes for and then turn it into his outstanding .
Source: BBC Worldwide
