James Martin Slow Cooked Pork Recipes

SLOW-ROAST PORK WITH APPLES & PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Sit the pork on a sheet of foil in a roasting tin. Mix the butter, sugar and mustard with 2 tsp salt, rub all over the top and ends of the joint (or joints), then scrunch up the foil to seal tightly in a parcel.
• Mix the onions and apples in a large, shallow roasting tin. Scatter the peppers over the top and poke in some bay leaves. Mix the vinegar, oil, mustard and sugar with 100ml water and drizzle over everything. Roast the pork for 3½ hrs while you cook the peppers on the shelf below for the first 2 hrs. When you remove the apples and peppers after 2 hrs, set aside and put the Salt-baked potatoes (see 'Goes well with', right) into the oven underneath the pork instead.
• After 3 hrs, unwrap the foil from the pork. Scrape any mustard mixture stuck to the foil back onto the pork, sit it and any juices back in the tin and increase oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roast for 30-45 mins more until the skin is brown and crisping. Remove the pork from the oven, cover and rest for 20 mins while you put the peppers back on the top shelf for 20 mins to finish. Serve the pork thickly sliced alongside the apples and peppers, with any tin juices poured over.

SLOW-ROASTED SHOULDER OF PORK

Steps:

• Heat oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8. Using a mortar and pestle, smash the garlic with the chilli and some salt and pepper. Stab holes all over the flesh side of the meat, then rub the chilli mixture into the flesh, pushing it into the holes and any gaps between the muscles. Place the shoulder on a rack in a roasting tin, then roast for 30 mins or until the skin begins to crackle up, blister and brown. Pour over half the lemon juice and 2 tbsp of the oil. Reduce the heat to 180C/ fan 160C/gas 3, then leave the meat to roast for about 2 hrs. The shoulder is ready when it is completely soft under the crisp skin. You can tell by prodding it with a roasting fork - the meat should be tender and give way. Set the meat aside to rest.
• While the meat rests, make the gravy. Tip all the fat out of the roasting tin, then place the tin over a low flame. Tip in the rest of the lemon juice, then sizzle, scraping any sticky bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Pour in the stock, then bring everything to the boil. Strain the gravy through a sieve into a small saucepan, add the oregano leaves, then simmer for a moment. Serve each person some of the crisp skin and meat cut from different parts of the shoulder. Serve with the side dishes, see recipes below, and some buttered new potatoes.

SLOW-ROAST PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix the treacle, cider vinegar, paprika, cumin, mustard powder and chilli powder until smooth. Using a sharp knife, make deep slashes in the skin of the pork shoulder to cut through the skin and fat layer, but not the meat. Place the joint, skin-side down, in a large dish and rub the spice paste into the meat (not the fat). Turn skin-side, cover tightly with cling film and put in the fridge overnight, or for 24 hrs to give the pork maximum flavour.
• Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Transfer the pork, skin-side up, to a deep roasting tin, rub 1 tbsp sea salt onto the skin and pour 500ml water into the bottom of the roasting tin. Cover tightly with foil and roast in the oven for 5 hrs.
• Remove the foil, turn up the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook for a further 1 hr 30 mins or until the pork is very tender and the skin has turned to crispy crackling.
• Once the pork is ready, take it out of the roasting tin, cover with foil and leave to rest. Pour the juices from the roasting tin into a jug and leave to separate. Pour off the fat layer and transfer the remaining juices to a large sauté pan. Simmer over a high heat, stirring, until reduced to a rich gravy.
• Once rested, cut the pork into pieces - it should pull apart with very little effort - and break the crackling into shards. Serve the pork and crackling with the gravy poured over and mustard mash, honey-roasted carrots and quick pickled red cabbage on the side (see goes well with below).

STICKY SLOW-ROAST BELLY OF PORK

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Lay the pork, skin-side up, on a rack in a roasting tin. Trickle with a little oil, then lightly press on the crushed peppercorns and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt. Place in the oven, then cook for 1 hr. Remove from the oven and baste with the juices. Continue to cook for a further 1½ hrs, basting every 20 mins.
• Put the sliced onions in the roasting tin under the pork. Mix the honey together with the cumin and chilli, brush it over the pork, then increase the oven to 200C/fan 180C/ gas 6. Cook for a further 30-40 mins, basting occasionally, until caramelised with a rich, golden glaze over the pork. Once cooked and tender (this can be easily tested by piercing the flesh with a knife), remove pork from the oven, then leave to rest for 10-15 mins.
• While the pork is resting, heat the tin on the stove with the onions, adding 2 tbsp water. This will lift any residue from the pan, creating a moist cooking liquor. Season the onions with salt and pepper, then divide between 6 plates. Carve pork into 6 portions, then serve on top of the onions. Pour any remaining liquor over and serve with the Pumpkin mash (below).

SPICED SLOW-ROAST PORK

Steps:

• Heat oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Mix all the ingredients (except the pork) in a small bowl, then rub all over the meat, getting in between the cuts in the skin.
• Lift the pork onto a wire rack in a roasting tin and place in the oven to sizzle for 30 mins. Reduce oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2 and roast for a further 3 hrs. If the crackling needs a final blast to get it crisp, turn oven back up to 230C/210C fan/gas 8 for about 30 mins more.
• Remove the tin from the oven, cover loosely with a tent of foil and rest for at least 20 mins or up to 40 mins before carving.