Looking for an impressive Christmas main? Try this roast pork with crackling recipe, served with a decadent gravy or apple sauce.
The secret to a good crackling is to leave the pork unwrapped in the fridge overnight to dry out.
Our roast pork with crackling is best served with crispy roast potatoes or steamed greens.
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 250°C.
To make the stuffing, tear bread into pieces and place in a food processor; process to coarse crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl. Process remaining ingredients, except goat’s cheese and marinating oil, until finely chopped; stir into breadcrumbs with goat’s cheese and marinating oil until well combined. Season.
Pat pork dry with paper towel. Untie, if necessary, and place on a board, rind-side down; open out to form one large piece. Press stuffing mixture along the centre of the pork into a firm log, then roll the pork up to enclose the filling. Tie securely with kitchen string at 2cm intervals. Place pork on a rack in a roasting pan. Rub rind with oil, then generously with salt.
Roast pork, uncoverered, for 30–40 minutes or until the rind is brown and blisters. (This will probably create smoke in the oven but will give the best crackling result.)
Reduce oven to 180°C. Roast pork for a further 1 hour 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 70°C. Alternatively, insert a metal skewer sideways into the thickest part; the juices should run clear.
Serve roast pork with gravy or apple sauce.
Test Kitchen tip
Ask your butcher to score the pork rind for you, as it is difficult to do so without a sharp Stanley knife or similar. If you want to elevate a ready made gravy, reduce 1 cup of cider by three-quarters, then stir into the gravy.
