Roast Pork with Crunchy Crackling

Ingredients

• 2 kg / 4 ½lb pork rack, bottom bone remove, top bone left in with skin attached
• 2 dsp rock salt
• sunflower oil.
• 3 - 4 medium sized carrots
• 2 onions diced
• sea salt and freshly milled black pepper
• apple compote
• 150 ml apple cider
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into small chunks
• 1 – 2 shallots, sliced
• 20 g butter
• 50 g brown sugar
• 100 g sultanas
• salt & pepper to season

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/gas mark 9. Lay the carrots, and onions on the base of a large roasting tray. Score the fat on the pork in a criss cross pattern with a very sharp knife. Drizzle with a little sunflower oil and rub with the rock salt.
2. Transfer to the oven and roast for 20 minutes then remove the pork from the oven and reduce the heat to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Place the pork back into the oven for a further 1 ¾ - 2 hours.
3. (Cooking time allowing 30 - 35 minutes to the pound) - by which stage the juices of the meat should run clear and the skin should be nice and crisp.
4. Transfer the meat to a carving board and allow it to rest for twenty minutes until you are ready to carve.
5. Carve the meat and serve some crackling to everyone.
6. Apple compote: Take 2 tablespoons of cooking fat from the roasting pan and place in a small pan, add the shallots and cook over a medium heat for 2 – 3minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook until thickened.