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Roast pork with crackling, celeriac and apple sauce
Perfect crackling is just a few steps away with our carefully crafted roast pork recipe.
Serves6
CourseMain meal
Prepare50 mins
Cook1 hr 50 mins
Total time2 hrs 40 mins
Ingredients
1 crackling pork boneless leg roast
2 large onions
1 garlic bulb, halved widthways
½ x 20g pack sage
1 celeriac, cut into 4cm chunks
3 fresh bay leaves
3 apples, peeled, cored and halved widthways
1½ tbsp plain flour
5 tbsp calvados (or another apple or pear brandy, if you have some)
500ml fresh chicken stock
Spice rub
1 tbsp fennel seeds
½ tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
25g flaky sea salt
Method
For the spice rub, toast the spices in a dry frying pan for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant. Crush in a pestle and mortar with 10g flaky sea salt to a mostly fine powder, then mix through the remaining 15g salt. Pat the pork dry with kitchen paper. Remove the string and set aside, then use a sharp knife to define the scores in the skin. Rub the spice rub generously all over the pork. Put on a tray, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180˚C, gas mark 4. Cut the onions into wedges then scatter in a deep roasting tin with the garlic, sage, celeriac and bay leaves; nestle the apples in the centre. Wipe the spice rub off the pork, pat dry and put on top of the veg. Roast for 1 hour 30 minutes until piping hot in the centre (65-70˚C on a meat thermometer).
Transfer the pork to a board. Using a sharp knife, carefully remove the skin and put it on a baking sheet with the roasted celeriac. Cover the pork with foil; rest for at least 30 minutes. Turn the oven up to 220˚C, gas mark 7. Roast the skin and celeriac for 10-15 minutes, until the skin crackles and puffs up and the celeriac has browned evenly. Meanwhile, use a fork to mash the roasted apples in a bowl; keep warm.
For the gravy, discard the sage, garlic and bay leaves from the onion tin, then put the tin on the hob (or transfer the contents to a pan) over a high heat. Tip in the flour and cook, whisking, for 3-4 minutes, until just starting to catch. Add the calvados (or brandy) and boil rapidly, scraping the base of the pan, until thickened again. Add the stock and bubble, whisking, for 4-5 minutes. Stir in any meat resting juices and simmer briskly for 4-5 minutes until thickened; season and keep warm. Carve the pork and crackling into thick slices; serve with the celeriac, gravy and apple sauce.
