Roast Pork Loin with Five-spice, Citrus Zest and Crunchy Crackling
Ingredients
1 tablespoon five-spice powder
2 tablespoons sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2kg loin of pork (with separate scored pork skin for crackling)
5 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon shredded lemon zest
shredded zest and juice of orange
small handful fresh sage leaves
1 glass white wine
500ml chicken stock
extra salt and freshly ground black pepper
Description
This is probably my all-time favourite way to cook a loin of pork, and has been a huge hit when I’ve demonstrated it for cooking classes. It is a recipe adapted from Ken Hom’s East Meets West Cuisine, by the San Francisco celebrity chef. The meat is marinated in sage, garlic, orange and lemon zest and, most essentially, five-spice powder before roasting, Refer to the note below on crackling, and serve with a selection of roast vegetables.
Method
Mix the five-spice powder, salt and pepper together and run into the surface of the meat. Crush the garlic with the skin on and scatter these cloves over the surface of the pork, with the lemon and orange zest and sage. Leave the flavours to permeate for at least two hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 220°C and place the pork in a roasting pan, with the scored crackling covering it. Cook 15 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 180°C and continue cooking for another 40 minutes. Watch the crackling and remove it when it becomes crisp and crunchy (see notes on crackling).
Take the pork from the oven, place on a carving dish and cover with foil. To make the gravy, deglaze the pan with a little white wine. Add the chicken stock and orange juice and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer, reducing by half. Strain this gravy, season and serve over the sliced pork.
HOW TO MAKE CRACKLING It would not be a pork roast without the crunch of crispy crackling. This is made from fresh pork skin, which has been taken from the meat, scored (the butcher can do this for you) and cooked on a high heat.
I have found the best way to ensure that crackling is a success is to salt the skin well and cook it separately, or after the meat is done, in a very hot oven. You can use the skin to protect and cover the pork while it is roasting but when the pork is cooked, remove the meat to rest, and return the crackling to the oven. Turn up the heat and cook for about 15 minutes until the surface blisters and explodes.
A lot of the fat on the underside of the pork skin will melt, and this should be tipped off. A really good idea is to sit the skin on a cake rack so that the fat can run off freely.
And for those who are truly sensitive about the happy noise as everyone crunches on the crackling, I suggest you take a break out on the deck!
Categories
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