Pork with crispy crackle is a real favourite for many. In Australia many families like to have this for Christmas lunch so the pressure is on not to muck it up. Follow the method in this recipe and you will get you a good result every time. Start with the cut. Use pork loin with the belly attached. I prefer the part of the loin closer to the neck. Pork by nature has little fat through its flesh, almost all the fat sits on a layer just under the skin. Having little fat through the flesh means it is prone to be very dry when over cooked. Under cooked pork unpleasant so there is not much room for error. The cut closer to the neck / shoulder does have a little fat through it, therefore adding some much needed moisture and flavour. Technology helps too. I use a digital thermometer to read the temperature of the centre of the pork this is a very helpful tool to help you not to over cook the pork. Finally, grill setting inside the oven. This will guarantee a crispy crackle every time.
Roast Pork
Course: Blog4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalIngredients
2kg Pork loin. Skin on. Belly attached. Scotch end.
Directions
- The skin must me very dry. Leave the pork in the fridge uncovered skin side up over night.
- Use a sharp knife to score the skin. Only deep enough to cut through the skin. Not too deep into the fat layer. Remove a little the skin from the end of the belly, just enough so when you roll up the loin there is no skin inside where it overlaps. Now, roll up the lion and tie up with butchers twine nice and tight.
- Preheat oven to 130c and dry roast the pork for aprox 2 hours or until the centre of the pork reads just above 50c (50c -53c) on a digital thermometer. Give it as long as it needs to reach temperature, long and slow
- Turn oven up to 230c for 10 – 15 mins. Then turn on the grilling function. Use tongs to rotate the pork so the skin crackles all over. By now the pork will be mid to high 50’s celsius in the middle. 57c for example. Now rest the pork for 30 mins. During the resting, the residual heat within the pork will come up to 60c on its own before it starts to gradually lower in temperature, retaining all its juices.
- Once rested, remove the crackle and break it up. Now thinly slice and serve.
Notes
- If doing this recipe for the first time do a practice run maybe the week prior. Every oven is different. Work out how long it will take in yours with out any pressure. You will nail it second time around that is for sure.
- Oven temps are fan forced.
- Some ovens you will need to turn off before you can turn the grill setting on.
