Slow-roasted pork shoulder with fennel
This is an economical meal for the family as pork shoulder is not expensive. Although it is a strange shape, roasted slowly as in this recipe, the meat just falls off the bone (it doesn’t require carving) and there’s very little waste
Ingredients
- 1-2 leeks, sliced
- 2 fennel bulbs, quartered from tip to root
- 1/2 cup apple juice or water
- 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper, plus extra 1 tsp sea salt
- 1.2-1.5kg pork shoulder, skin scored
- 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and halved through waist
- Assorted vegetables such as baby carrots, Brussels sprouts and very small onions, or halved quartered bigger onions
Steps
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Oil the base of a roasting dish and cover with the leeks, fennel and apple juice.
- Rub the salt and pepper into the pork meat, then place it on top of the vegetable trivet. This stops the bottom from stewing. Sprinkle extra salt on the skin.
- Cook for 20 minutes to get it going, then cover tightly with foil, reduce oven to 150°C and cook for a further 2 hours.
- Uncover, add apples and prepared assorted vegetables around the pork. Cook for 45 minutes, then for 5-15 minutes under a hot grill to get the crackling to pop. Watch carefully that it doesn't burn.
- Serve from the dish with greens such as peas, beans and spinach or silverbeet.
