
If you have a good butcher, ask him for the rib or rump end of the pork
loin; it’s more evenly sized, making it easier to cook. Ask him to leave
the skin on and to score it across with lines about 5mm/1/4 in. apart and
then to take it off the bone. Ask him to chop the bones up for you and
take them home to use for your gravy.
Ingredients:
1/2 pork loin roughly 7 pounds in weight (on the bone), scored 1/4-inch apart, bone removed
Sea salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds
5 cloves garlic
8 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pork bones, chopped
5 outer sticks celery, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
Method
Lay out your pork on a board and rub some salt and 1 teaspoon
chopped rosemary into the scored lines, trying to get this into every bit
by pushing and rubbing in. In a pestle and mortar smash up the fennel
seeds, then the garlic and remaining chopped rosemary, and rub this
into the meat - not the skin, or it will burn. Place in a large roasting tray
with the balsamic vinegar, bay and olive oil. Leave for about 1/2 hour to marinate.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to its highest temperature and brown the
bones. Rub the skin of the pork with lots of sea salt - this will help puff it
up and dry it out. Place the pork directly on the bars at the top of the
oven. Finally add the browned bones and vegetables to the leftover
balsamic marinade, add 570ml, 1 pint water and put into the oven
directly under the pork. As the pork cooks all the goodness drips from it
into the tray. This liquid will then become your gravy. You also get quite
charred bar marks on the base of the pork.
The pork will take about 1 hour to cook. After 20 minutes turn the
temperature down to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Once the pork is cooked,
remove it from the oven on the rack and place on a piece of foil to save
any juices. Allow to rest for at least 10 minutes. Finish off any vegetables
that you are going to serve with it and make a gravy out of the juices in
the tray which was underneath the pork.
Put the bones, the liquid and the vegetables into a large pan. Add some
water to the tray that contained the bones and vegetables, as there will
be some Marmite-like, sticky stuff on the bottom to the tray which is very
tasty. Reboil the water, scrape off all the goodness from the bottom of
the tray and then pour everything into the pan. Bring to the boil, shaking
occasionally, remove any oil, grease or scum from the top, then pass the
contents through a sieve, discarding all the vegetables and bones. You
can reduce and then correct the seasoning, to taste.
Yield: 8 servings
Source: Jamie Oliver cookbook