Ingredients
- 1.8 kg (4 lb) joint of pork with the skin on
- 6 garlic cloves
- 12 baby onions
- 16 baby apples or 4 Golden Delicious, peeled and quartered
- 60 g (2 1/4 oz) butter
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Calvados
- 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). Remove the skin from the pork and trim off some of the fat, leaving on a thin covering. Score the outside of the skin in a criss-cross pattern using a sharp knife, but don't cut all the way through. tie the skin back on the joint and rub it with salt. Season the underside of the meat and put the joint, bone-side-down, in a roasting tin with the garlic cloves and onions.
2. Roast for 1 1/2 hours, or until cooked through. to test the inner temperature, push a skewer into the meat and pull it out after a few seconds, if it feels very hot the meat will be cooked through. Rest the meat for 15 minutes before carving, keeping the garlic and onions warm. If you want to make the crackling crisper, remove it and and crisp it under a hot grill (broiler). Pour any meat juices into a jug and skim off the fat.
3. Sauté the apples in butter in a frying pan for a minute, then add the sugar and increase the heat. Cook the apples until caramelized. Remove and keep warm. Add the Calvados to the pan and cook for a minute, then add the meat juices and crème fraîche and stir to make a gravy. Serve the pork with the apples, onions and garlic, and pass the gravy around.
