Yorkshire Roast Pork and Potatoes

The key to a good Yorkshire roast pork - and the thing that you will be judged on, if you’re determined to serve this to others - is the crackling. Perfect roast pork should have moist, evenly cooked meat surrounded by crisp crackling. Crackling is almost a separate part of the meal and can be removed at the end of cooking and served independently.

This doesn’t require any kind of specialist choice of meat other than that it should have a thick layer of fat. This should keep the meat moist during cooking and add flavour to the finished roast.

Adjust the cooking times to suit the size of the joint (these are normally suggested on a packaged joint). In practice, overcooking is better than undercooking, so lean more to a lengthier cook where possible.

Pork cooks better when the skin is dry apparently, so leaving uncovered in the fridge might help in this process.

Ideally, the pork should be at room temperature, not straight from the fridge and should be placed into a preheated oven and cooked to the correct temperature.

INGREDIENTS

1.35 kg/3 lb loin of Pork, preferably free-range

Four medium-sized potatoes

Cooking Time: 100 minutes

Serves 6

PREPARATION

1. Place the pork into a large roasting tin. Cook for 25 minutes per 450g/1lb, plus add on a further 25 minutes on the bottom shelf of the oven.

2. After about an hour or so, remove the meat from the roasting tin and drain the juices into a dish.

3. Replace the meat in the roasting tin and continue to cook.

4. Dice potatoes into half-inch cubes and place them in the dish with the meat juices, ensuring that they are reasonably covered but not submerged.

5. Place the potatoes dish on the top shelf of the oven with the meat and continue to cook.

6. Approximately an hour before the end of the cooking time, switch the potatoes to the bottom shelf and the meat to the top shelf. (Remove any string from around the pork at this stage if you wish.) Continue to cook.

7. At the end of the cooking time, remove the meat and test the crackling for crispness. Cook slightly longer if needed. The test is, does the crackling snap off, piece by piece, easily?

8. Serve with gravy, seasonal vegetables and apple sauce. And of course Yorkshire puddings.