Cider-Roasted Pork with Crackling

A joint of pork with perfect crackling, roasted over onions and apples in dry cider.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 2 hr 15 min
Total: 2 hours 40 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
6 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 2kg boned and rolled pork loin joint, skin scored
  • 2 tbsp sea salt flakes
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 onions, thickly sliced
  • 2 eating apples, cut into wedges
  • 4 sprigs fresh sage
  • 500ml dry cider
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • Black pepper to taste

Method

  1. Leave the pork uncovered in the fridge overnight if you can, to dry the skin. Pat the skin completely dry before cooking.

  2. Heat the oven to 240°C (220°C fan)/gas mark 9. Rub the oil and salt well into the skin and the scoring.

  3. Scatter the onions, apples and sage in a roasting tin, set the pork on top and pour in half of the cider.

  4. Roast for 30 minutes until the crackling begins to blister, then reduce to 180°C (160°C fan)/gas mark 4.

  5. Roast for a further 1 hour 45 minutes, adding a little cider if the tin dries out. The pork is cooked at 75°C in the centre.

  6. Remove the crackling if it needs more crisping and return it to the oven on a tray for 10 minutes.

  7. Rest the pork for 20 minutes. Stir the flour into the tin juices on the hob, add the remaining cider and simmer for 5 minutes for a quick sauce.