The Dinner Party History Blog

...a record of conviviality by a forgetful cook ...

Chowing Down Through History

Sunday 27 March 2011

Sunday Roast

It's not quite a Dinner Party, but Sunday Roast with me and mine can sometimes be a culinary adventure. This time, I managed to get my Roast Pork Shoulder with crackling just right, so I thought I'd share it... I have seen the future and it is SLOW ROASTING! Six hours slow at 110c, in fact ...

I heated the oven to 230c, then, whilst it was getting nice and hot, I dried the shoulder of pork with paper towels. Cut the skin with a sharp knife, parallel lines about 1cm apart,  just through the skin, but not into the meat.

A quick glug of oil, rubbed into the skin and then a liberal dosing of sea salt. Into the oven for 30 minutes to crisp and sear the skin, and then the "patience" bit; drop the temperature to 110c and leave it there.... go for a walk, wash the car, empty the bins ... (I did all this) ...SIX HOURS later ...you will find the most melting piece of tender juicy meat you're ever likely to enjoy (leave it longer, if you like, some people report going 12 - 14 hours...).  

Now I'd seen a TV chef cheat on the crisp crackling and, as I was a little disappointed with the crackling on my joint, I pinched his idea... the point is for the juices in the skin to permeate the meat whilst cooking, so I took the skin off whilst the meat was resting, put the temperature back up to 230c (for the roast potatoes) and put the skin on a tray to crisp even further - salty crunchy tasty!...

If I say so myself, it was a nice piece of meat and well worth the three quid I paid for it (yes, I know, it was on offer) ;-)