at room temperature (ask the butcher to chine it for you)
salt and pepper
to taste
2 carrots
peeled
6 sticks celery
1 large onion
5 tbsp vegetable oil
50ml/2fl oz Calvados
75g/2½oz quince paste
roughly chopped
buttered kale and carrots
to serve
Directions
Preheat the oven to 210C/410F/Gas 7.
Add the potatoes to a large pan of cold water
bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes
or until almost cooked through. Drain and set aside to steam dry while you prepare the pork.
Bring approximately 500ml/18fl oz of water to the boil. Place the pork joint on a trivet or cooling rack set over a heatproof bowl. Carefully ladle or pour the boiling hot water over the rind of the pork
it should visibly shrink back. Pat the skin dry. Season the joint all over with salt and pepper on the flesh side.
Roughly chop the carrots
celery and onion into quarters and arrange in the bottom of a roasting tray. Drizzle over a little vegetable oil and place the pork on top of the vegetables.
Roast in the hot oven for about 10 minutes
or until the pork is coloured on the outside. Reduce the temperature to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and continue cooking for approximately 40 minutes
or longer if you prefer your meat well done.
For the roast potatoes
pour the vegetable oil into a roasting tray and place over a medium-high heat. Once smoking
add the cooked potatoes
along with all the small bits of broken off potato. Season with salt
then place the tray in the oven. After approximately 10 minutes
turn the potatoes. The potatoes should take about 40 minutes to cook
during this time you will have to turn them a couple of times.
When the pork has cooked
remove it from the oven and carefully cut off the skin and fat in one piece. Wrap the meat tightly in a double layer of foil and leave on a plate in a warm place until ready to carve and eat.
Place the skin on a small roasting tray and return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes
or until it has become crisp and brittle.
To make the gravy
place the roasting tray that the pork and vegetables were cooked in over a medium heat. Spoon off any excess fat and discard. Add the Calvados and scrape the bottom of the tin with a wooden spoon to remove as much of the caramelised
cooked bits as possible. Add the quince paste and pour in a splash of boiling water. Stir until the quince paste has dissolved.
To remove the vegetables
strain the gravy through a sieve into a clean pan. Really squeeze the veg as the small fibres that pass through will help thicken the gravy. Keep your gravy warm until ready to serve
adding the resting juices from the pork meat just before serving.
Unwrap the meat and carve a chop per person to serve with the potatoes and the gravy.
