Pot roast pork

By Birgitta

Heston Blumenthal

Ask your butcher for a four-rib rack of free- range pork, taken two ribs back from the best end. He will understand, honestly. The reason for this request is that the first couple of ribs’ worth of the meat is too lean. In addition, ask him to chine the joint for you.

Ingredients

• For the cure:
• 1 4-rib rack of free-range pork
• 1 large bunch thyme
• 200 g salt
• 2 garlic cloves
• A little salt and pepper
• 1 bunch sage
• For the cooking process:
• 1 large onion
• 2 medium-large carrots
• 1 leek
• 3 cloves garlic
• 100-150 g unsalted butter
• 50 ml groundnut (peanut) oil
• 1 bunch thyme
• 1 bunch marjoram (optional)
• For the glaze:
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp Indonesian soy sauce

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from timesonline.co.uk

Preparation

Step 1

Two days in advance, chop the thyme leaves, mix them with the salt and reserve. Peel the cloves of garlic and cut into matchstick-size batons, making sure you have at least 18 of them. Blanch these in water for one minute, drain and refresh.

Put some salt and freshly ground pepper in a small ramekin — about 1 tsp of salt to a ¼ tsp of pepper — and drop the garlic batons in. Mix well, then reserve.

Next, turn the pork upside down, so you are looking at the flat, bony side. With a small pointed knife, make two rows of three incisions, each 1.5cm deep. Wrap each garlic baton in a sage leaf and push one into each incision. Turn the rack so that you are looking down on the ribs and again make two rows of three holes in between each rib. Stuff these as before. Finally, make three incisions in each end, between the fat and the meat, and stuff with garlic as before.

The important thing is to get the batons in evenly without sticking them deep into the meat, but into the fat or against the bone. On your work surface, lay out some clingfilm, enough to wrap around the pork twice. Cover an area the same size as the meat with half the herbed salt. Place the pork skin side down on the salt, cover all the sides, except for the exposed meat ends, with the rest of the salt and carefully wrap the joint twice in the clingfilm. Make sure the salt stays in position. Leave the meat to cure in the fridge for two days. After this, thoroughly wash off the salt and pat dry the meat.

On the day of cooking, preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas Mark 3. Peel and quarter the onion and carrot, cut the root and green top off the leek, then cut into four lengths. Peel the garlic. In a lidded casserole large enough to fit the joint, melt 100g of the butter with the groundnut oil over a moderate heat. When beginning to colour, add the pork and lightly brown on all sides. This browning process is important, as it will give a stronger, richer flavour to the sauce.

Remove the pork and replace the butter if too brown. Lightly colour the vegetables and place the pork on top, skin side down. Chop and add the herbs, put the lid on and place in the oven. Meanwhile, to make the glaze, whisk the ingredients together and set aside.

After about 25 minutes, remove the pork from the oven, turn over and return to the oven for another 25 minutes. After that time, remove the casserole from the oven, take out the pork and put on a chopping board. Now turn the oven up to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7.

With a sharp knife, carefully remove the skin from the pork, leaving as much fat as possible on the meat. Score the fat by running a knife through it in a criss-cross pattern, without going into the meat itself. Allow the meat to rest until you have made the sauce.

To make the sauce, place the casserole over a moderate heat and allow the vegetables to caramelise to a lovely golden brown — this will take about 20 minutes. Pour out any excess fat and add about 300ml of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain this reduction into a smaller pan, discarding the vegetables. If necessary, reduce a little more. Set aside.

To finish the dish, generously brush the pork fat with the glaze and return to the hot oven for about 10 minutes until nicely caramelised. You can, if you wish, put the skin in the oven for crackling.

When ready to serve, remove the pork from the oven and put on the board. With a long, sharp knife, cut down and across against the contour of the bone to leave just the joint of meat. Collect any juices that may have come out of the meat and add to the sauce, then finish this off with a knob of butter, gently whisking it in. At the table, cut the pork into thick slices — fantastic. Serve with the truffle macaroni.