Pork Loin with Crispy Crackling

By cookism

It is not always that you find a dish that marries delightful crispness with satisfying juiciness. We achieved this with our pork loin and with every taste found ourselves unable to stop our exclamations of pleasure and relish. At times the shattering of the brittle crackling was so loud we could barely hear ourselves. Give this unforgettable recipe a shot, made more exciting with our indulgent spiced applesauce.

Ingredients

• For applesauce:
• 900 g boneless loin of pork, secured with kitchen twine
• 1 to 2 tsp vegetable oil
• Handful coarse sea salt
• 4 apples, cored, peeled and diced
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
• 1/4 cup Courvoisier

Details

Adapted from cookism.tumblr.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 240°C. Pat pork skin dry thoroughly with kitchen towels. Using a sharp knife, score pork skin at 5mm intervals, making sure not to cut into the meat.
2. Pat skin dry again and rub it with a little oil and plenty of salt, particularly into the slits of the score marks. Place the pork on a rack over the roasting tin and roast for 25 minutes. Reduce heat to 180°C and roast pork for a further 45 minutes, turning the tin around halfway through. Rest the meat for 10-20 minutes before carving.
3. While the pork is roasting, prepare the applesauce. In a saucepan, combine diced apples, water, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla bean paste. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes until apples are tender. Stir in Courvoisier and remove from heat. Let it cool slightly and mash it with a fork. Transfer applesauce into a serving dish.
4. Carve the pork, portion it and serve with applesauce.