Slow-roasted Pork Shoulder with Spiced Apple Relish
Slow-roasted Pork Shoulder with Spiced Apple Relish is a modern British recipe for a classic Bonfire Night dish of a shoulder of pork coated with a spice blend that's slow-roasted with cider and served in buns with a spiced apple relish and the pan juices. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Slow-roasted Pork Shoulder with Spiced Apple Relish.
For the Pork:
3.5kg (about) boned and rolled pork shoulder, skin deeply scored with a craft knife
300ml dry cider
4 cooking apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
3 tbsp golden caster sugar
1/2 tsp crushed, dried, chillies
freshly-grated nutmeg
olive oil
wild rocket, to serve
crusty bread rolls, to serve
Method:
Begin with the spice paste. Lightly crush the fennel seeds, coriander seeds and black peppercorns in a mortar. Add the chilli and salt and crush to combine then pound in the garlic and lemon zest and mix to a paste (add lemon juice, as needed). Take this mixture and, using your fingers, rub and push into the slits in the pork skin.
Now set the pork, skin side uppermost, on a rack in a roasting tin. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 210°C and roast for about 25 minutes, or until the skin begins to crisp. Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C, turn the pork over and pour the remaining lemon juice over the top and cook for 1 hour further. Now pour 150ml of the cider into the roasting tin and cook for 1 hour more.
In the meantime, combine the apples in a pan with the sugar, remaining cider, cinnamon sticks, chilli and a generous grating of nutmeg. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the apples are reduced to a thick pulp (add more sugar to sweeten if needed).
When the hour of cooking in the cider is up, remove the pork from the oven and pour the pan juices into a saucepan. Turn the pork skin side up then increase the oven temperature to 200°C. Return the pork to the oven and cook for a further 30 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown and very crisp. Remove the pork from the oven at this point and rest for 15 minutes.
Skim any excess fat from the surface of the pan juices then warm over gentle heat. When the pork has rested slice thinly then serve in the rolls with a drizzle of warmed pan juices, a handful of rocket leaves and a generous spoonful of the apple relish. Serve immediately with the crackling.
