British Roast Pork Dinner

My thanks to the Hungry Squidz Choice group for this award.

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For me, nothing says Winter more than a roast pork dinner.

We try to eat seasonal foods as much as possible and don't eat fresh pork in the hotter summer months. Autumn and winter are the times for pork. Combined with apples and seasonal vegetables it makes for a filling and warming food.

With any roast dinner, it starts with the meat. I prefer a rolled shoulder myself. Others may like the loin. What a roasting joint definitely needs though is a nice layer of fat. It is this layer that keeps the meat juicy and moist and imparts a lot of flavour to the meat.

The difficult part of cooking a pork roast is getting the skin to turn into crackling. Every cook has their secret.

This is mine:

Take the pork from the fridge and dry it thoroughly. Let it sit out for at least an hour. Using a sharp knife, slice the skin halfway through the layer of fat into a diamond pattern. Be very careful not to cut the string holding the roast together. Take a tablespoon of salt and rub that into the skin.

The roast must be as dry as possible. Cutting the skin and into the fat allows the fat to be released while the pork is cooking. It also makes it easier to eat the crackling afterwards. The salt also serves to help release the fat and pull out any remaining moisture.

Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6/ 400F/200C/moderately hot.

Roast it in the oven, without covering, for the specified time.
25 minutes per pound + 25 minutes

Take it out halfway through cooking and rotate the joint.

Very important - Do not baste the pork joint.

The pork is done when the juices run clear.

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Just about any root vegetable can be roasted, but the faves in our house are potatoes and parsnips.

Details on how to roast root vegetables can be found at Mouthwatering Roast Vegetables .

I never knew just how easy it is to make applesauce until I started cooking my own.

Take one large cooking apple. I use a bramley apple, locally grown.
Peel it.
Quarter it.
Core it.
Cut it into small chunks.

Put it into a small saucepan along with a teaspoon of sugar and a splash of water.
Cover.
Put it over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples have all softened down.
Add a knob of butter.
Use a fork to stir it all together and break up any remaining lumps.

Take it off the heat and cover. Keep it warm until ready to serve.

One large bramley apple makes plenty of applesauce for 2 adults and 2 children.