Crackin’ Pork

Serves: 8
It’s complicated
Time: 3 hours + 6 hours chilling


Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 celery stick, thinly diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 pork and fennel sausages, skins removed
2 tablespoons chopped sage
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 cups torn day-old sourdough bread (without crusts)
1 Granny Smith apple, grated 
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
¼ cup apple juice
2.2kg boneless pork loin 
1 tablespoon sea salt flakes
1 whole garlic bulb
4 Granny Smith apples, quartered
800g brushed white potatoes, quartered

METHOD:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frypan over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic and fennel seeds. Sauté until the onion softens, then add the pork sausage mince. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Combine the sausage mixture, sage, parsley, bread, grated apple, mustard and apple juice in a food processor. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and pulse until finely chopped and evenly combined.

2. Place the pork loin rind side up on a chopping board and lightly score diagonally in each direction so you create diamond shapes in the pork rind. 

3. On a clean work surface, lie 8 x 50cm pieces of kitchen string vertically with a 5cm space in between each. Place the pork rind side down on top of the string. Firmly pack the prepared stuffing vertically in the centre of the meat. 

4. Roll the pork to enclose the filling and tie each piece of string firmly to hold the shape. 

5. Place the meat in a roasting pan and refrigerate, uncovered, for a minimum of 6 hours or overnight to allow the rind to dry out. 

6. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced) or as high as your oven will go. Take the meat out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature. Rub the salt flakes and remaining tablespoon of olive oil into the rind. 

7. Place on the top shelf of the oven and allow to cook for 30 minutes or until the rind crackles and becomes golden. Reduce the oven temperature to 200°C (180°C fan forced) and cook for 45 minutes. 

8. Add the garlic bulb, apples and potatoes to the roasting tray and bake for a further 45 minutes or until the pork is cooked through and vegetables are tender. 

9. Once cooked, remove from the oven and cover the pork with foil and allow to rest for 20 minutes. To serve, remove the kitchen string, thinly slice the pork and serve with roasted potatoes and apples.

You will know the meat is cooked when you poke through the thickest part with a skewer and the juices run clear rather than pink.