Few things sadden me more than roast pork with skin that is rock hard that I could chip a tooth on it, or even worse - soggy chewy skin! Why??! Please do the humble pig some justice and honor it with the crunchy, crispy, snappy, cracklin' skin it was destined to be!
Roast pork is the gift that keeps on giving. I always make more than I need, and have leftovers in sandwiches and tacos for days. The first time I served this to my family, my father described it as "So much better than anything you get at a restaurant. If this was available for sale, people would line up for blocks - and when you run out, they would fight over it!" Um... thanks? Nonetheless, this is an fan favourite and I hope you like it too!
You can use this recipe for many different cuts of pork: shoulder, leg, or belly. The key to crispy skin is to prep it the day before and let the skin dry out. It takes a bit of planning, but doesn't require much active work.
Time: You need to start the prep the day before, and at least 4.5 hrs to roast.
- 8-10 lbs pork shoulder/leg/belly
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 dry white wine
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- salt & pepper
- Prep: The day before, pierce the skin all over with the tip of a very sharp knife. Then score the skin all over by making shallow long cuts about 1 cm apart. You need a very sharp knife, and you only want to cut the skin - not through to the meat. If your knife is not sharp enough, you can also use a clean, new Xacto knife. Then make the same cuts in the opposite direction so that it is a diagonal crosshatch pattern. Rub all over with a generous amount of salt - bottom, top and sides. Really get it into all the cuts you made in the skin. Loosely cover with plastic film wrap and refrigerate overnight.
On The Big Day:
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- Coarsely slice the onion and garlic and place in the bottom of a deep roasting pan. If you are using a disposable foil roasting pan, place it on a heavy bottom baking sheet to support the weight (it's almost 10 lbs of meat after all!).
- Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the pork - all sides again. Place on top of the onions and garlic.
- Pour the wine and chicken stock into the pan. Roast the pork for 4.5 - 5 hrs. Now how easy was that?! Almost done!
- Optional: You can blast the pork under the broiler for a few minutes and the skin with puff up and be airy (kinda of like fried pork rinds). Do not walk away, and watch closely so you don't burn it!
- Remove the pork from the oven, and let the pork rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.
- Place on a large platter and serve sliced. If your knife is not very sharp, you can remove the skin and cut with scissors before slicing the roast.
- Also, the roasting juices are delicious, and you can skim off the fat and serve the with the pork, or over mashed potatoes,
A note about salt. I love salt. Salt is very important. I highly recommend Diamond brand crystal salt. It is flaky and you can use it generously, but because of the shape it is actually less salt than iodized fine table salt. The taste is clean and not metallic. It is the choice of most restaurants. Try it and let me know what you think.
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