Roast Pork Loin with Fennel Seed & Garlic
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Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
A quick and simple recipe for a great bit of roast pork with crackling.
Ingredients
  • 2.3kg pork loin (bone removed, skin on & scored)
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 tbsp fennel seed, toasted & ground
  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp pepper
  • 1 large white onion, peeled & quartered OR 4-5 shallots, peeled & halved
Instructions
  1. Lay the pork skin side down and rub the meat firstly with the crushed garlic (this helps everything else to stick), and then with the fennel seed, pepper and half the salt.
  2. Turn the meat over and rub the remaining salt across the scored skin.
  3. Make a C-shaped crease along the long edge of the pork, folding the meat in itself and keeping the skin on the outside. Tie it into this position with a couple of lengths of string.
  4. The meat will keep like this for a few hours, or a couple of days if you hold off salting the skin. Some liquid will be drawn out of the meat, but nothing to worry about.
  5. Pre-heat the oven to 170 Celsius.
  6. Put the garlic cloves and onion/shallot into a roasting pan with a little oil, and put the meat on top, skin side up, and place in the oven.
  7. Cook for around 1 hour 45 minutes - more or less, dependent on size of your cut (22 minutes per 500g is a good rule). Or, if you have a meat thermometer, cook until the deepest part of the meat reads 63 celsius. In the last 15 minutes of the roasting, give the skin a tap with a fork to see if it's crisped up. If it could do with more, ramp up the temperature for the last stretch, leaving your oven door slightly ajar if it is steamy in there (mine was fine kept at 170 C the whole time).
  8. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes, and then carve and serve!
Recipe by Third Breakfast at https://thirdbreakfast.com/ginger-pig-butchery-class/