One of my favorite comfort foods and with this recipe you’re guaranteed to make perfect crackling every time!
Serves 4-6
Paleo-friendly
You will need:
2.5kg pork roast
2 tablespoons coconut oil, ghee or olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 gold kumara (sweet potato), peeled and cubed
1 can of tomatoes, whole or diced
1 bay leaf
2 cups organic or homemade chicken stock
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 200degC.
1) In a large pan for the stovetop add the oil and heat, then add the pork roast. Pan fry and sear pork until deeply browned on all sides. Remove and set aside in a roasting oven dish.
2) To the stovetop pan add the onions, garlic, and kumara. Cook for a few minutes until softened. Then add the tomatoes, bay leaf, and stock. Bring to the boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Leave to simmer with a lid on while you attend to the pork.
3) Now back to the pork that has been resting in its oven dish. Put the seared pork in the oven at 200degC with the crackling side up. Leave it until the crackling starts to bubble then turn the temperature down to 130degC to slow roast. Add the vegetable mix from the stovetop to the roasting dish and cover it with a lid. I had to lie my pork on its side to make it fit into my oven dish.
4) Now slow roast at 130degC for at least 3 hours or until the meat comes away from the bone easily and is tantalisingly tender.
5) Once the pork is cooked, remove the roast from the oven. Carefully cut off crackling and the juicy fat underneath it. Now lay it down crackling side up, on the oven dish lid and put it back in the oven at 200degC or under the grill for a few more minutes to get it extra crunchy. Don’t walk away from the crackling as it doesn’t take long for it to go from perfect crackling to charred hot charcoal!
6) Let the roast rest then serve with a green salad drizzled with cold-pressed olive oil and the perfectly crunchy crackling.
If there are any pork leftovers they make a yummy soup for lunch the next day when blended with the cooked onions, kumara, garlic, and tomatoes. I also put in baby peas from the freezer to add a bit of green goodness to the soup.
Enjoy!
