Making the perfect roast pork in our house tends to be an occasion with a triple dose of happiness. You’ve got anticipation; hot roast pork and then lovely leftovers. So – more of it please. The anticipation is obvious. You’ve got this gorgeous roasting smell coming from the oven. Not just the meat but the herbs it has been slathered in. This really gets the taste buds going. You’re looking at the watch, trying to make time fly until it is done. And then when it comes out of the oven, in a cloud of steam as you wait for it to rest. Oh the joy. Then there is tucking in to the delicious slices of juicy meat, served with golden roast potatoes or warm plantains, all slathered in gravy. Any one for seconds or thirds? THEN, the leftovers. Lovely cold pork sandwiches packed into fresh bread complete with a heaving portion of baked plantains and peanut butter gravy or caraway, apple and Brussels sprout slaw. As you can see – it is a three-pronged big deal and I love every minute of it.
A word about how to cook the perfect roast pork….. The best way to be sure that your pork is perfectly cooked is to check its temperature when roasting. The guideline is that the centre of the meat should get to 63C (145 F). Obviously, you need a fab thermometer to measure this. You then need to let it rest for a few minutes afterward before carving it up. Nuff said – here is how to cook the perfect roast pork all slathered in fennel and garlic and with a golden crispy crackling.
