Cooking pork-suggestions please

[springyzone]

My sister and her family are currently in the air, en route to NY.

She does the pork each year on Christmas day.

So it is my job this year. No biggie really but I have looked up recipes for pork shoulder (I bought a free range one a couple of days ago) and there are 2 divergent schools of thought.

The first school says hit it hard to start with, with a burst of high heat.

The second group go for long, slow heat at the start, culminating with a big burst of heat only at the end.

Which one produces the best crackling?

Any suggestions.

[countessalmirena]

Ah, perfect crackling! A time-honoured question.

You are going to have to start with a good high temperature. I’d set the oven to 250℃… but before you start, make sure you’ve prepared the pork properly.

• get that pork as dry as possible. This involves patting it dry and IF POSSIBLE keeping it in the fridge overnight after you have lightly scored the pork rind. (And be careful not to cut into the meat itself. By scoring the skin/rind, you’ll ensure good fat rendering, but you absolutely must not score down to the meat. Many chefs recommend using a Stanley knife/box cutter rather than a kitchen knife; if you use a kitchen knife, it must be very sharp. Or… get your butcher to score the pork.)

• some chefs pour boiling hot water over the top of the scored pork immediately after scoring (avoiding the meat as much as possible) before drying the pork.

• get the pork out of the fridge about half an hour before you put it into the oven; you will want it to be room temperature.

• rub the pork with olive oil. This is because you will want the fat of the pork to render during the cooking

• salt that pork! Do you have salt flakes rather just ground salt? Try combining the two. The flakes will give you a really nice crust. Rub that salt in extremely thoroughly, and don’t neglect the scored bits. Ideally do this 4-10 minutes before you put the pork into the oven.

• add herbs at this point if you want. Rosemary or fennel are two good choices. Remember to rub into the scoring.

• place the pork into preheated oven. I’d keep it at 250℃ for perhaps 20-25 minutes, but you should keep an eye on the pork through the oven window. Under no circumstances open the oven door earlier than that.

• reduce temp after that, down to 180℃ or so, for the recommended time.

That’s how I do my pork crackling…

[twyngwyn]

ditto, countess, and if all else fails......cut off the fat (after cooking) and grill upside down....and watch it!

[springyzone]

Ah, thank you to you both.

I see you follow the hit it hard at the start school of thought.

I've done pork before. Some of the crackling was okay, some a bit rubbery. 

Apparently I need to put balls of foil under it to make it as even as possible with the fat at the top.

Some people even swear by the slow cooker though I guess they must take the pork out at the end for a burst in the oven.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[joztamps]

And always remember, first, catch your pig

[springyzone]

I have to report-the crackling was a triumph. Amazing.

The rest of the pork, just average. I found it was quite fatty. I don't know if that is often the case with the shoulder. Perhaps I cooked it a fraction long. One recipe said long and slow (about 3 hours total), the other said 2 hours total so after the initial blast of heat I turned it down low (140c Fan forced) and did 90 minutes. Then another 10 min blast.

It is this time of year I wish I had 2 ovens (and 2 fridges) as roast poptatoes just don't come on well at 140c but after the pork was out and resting, they came on a treat!

[countessalmirena]

Springyzone, congratulations on cracking the crackling!

Hmm… if the actual meat wasn’t as ideal, it may have been the pork shoulder not being as nicely marbled as one’d like… Was the fat too dark in colour (before cooking)?

I calculate cooking time from after the initial 20-25 minutes’ crackling time. 30 - 35 mins per 500g… then I can start checking whether the meat is done. You can use the skewer test; stick a skewer into the nest (where it is nice and thick) and if the juices run clear, your pork is done. If the juices are a bit pink, further cooking needed.

You can check with thermometer (left in thick part of meat for 20 seconds) — safe temperature is between 70℃ and 75℃.