Roast Pork Loin with Crackling and Apple Sauce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large roasting tin
• •Sharp knife for scoring
• •Heavy-bottomed saucepan for the apple sauce
• •Carving board and carving knife
• •Meat thermometer (helpful but not essential)

Instructions

1. 1

   Score and dry the skin

   If your butcher hasn't already scored the skin, do it yourself with the sharpest knife you've got. Tight, parallel lines, about half a centimetre apart, cutting through the skin and into the fat but not down to the meat. Pat the skin bone dry with kitchen paper. Then leave the joint uncovered in the fridge for as long as you can manage. Overnight is ideal. A few hours will do. Dry skin is the difference between crackling that snaps between your teeth and skin that sits there, pale and rubbery, embarrassing everyone.

   Ask your butcher to score the skin for you. They'll do it in about thirty seconds with a knife sharper than anything in your drawer, and they won't mind being asked. That's what they're there for.
2. 2

   Season and prepare the tin

   Take the pork out of the fridge a good hour before it goes in the oven. Cold meat in a hot oven doesn't roast evenly. Rub the skin with olive oil, working it into the score lines, then rub in fine sea salt with real generosity. More than feels sensible. The salt draws out moisture and helps the skin blister and crisp. Scatter the onion halves, carrots, sage, and bay leaves in the bottom of a large roasting tin. These aren't decoration. They're the beginning of your gravy. Set the pork on top, skin side up, and let the bones and vegetables act as a natural rack.

3. 3

   Blast for the crackling

   Set the oven to 230°C (210°C fan). Put the pork in and roast for twenty-five to thirty minutes. The kitchen will start to smell like a promise. The skin should be blistering and turning golden, starting to crackle and pull apart along the score lines. If it's browning unevenly, turn the tin around. Don't open the door more than once. Trust your nose. When it smells of roasting pork and hot salt, it's doing what it should.

   If your oven runs unevenly, you'll know by now. Put the tin on the shelf where things brown most reliably. Every oven has a sweet spot.
4. 4

   Lower and roast through

   Turn the oven down to 180°C (160°C fan) and continue roasting for about an hour and a quarter. The general rule is twenty-five minutes per 500g at the lower temperature, but your nose and a thermometer are better guides than a clock. The juices should run clear when you pierce the thickest part with a skewer. If you've got a meat thermometer, you're looking for about 65°C in the centre. It'll climb another five degrees while it rests. The crackling should be deeply golden and hard to the tap of a wooden spoon, a hollow, promising sound.

   If the crackling hasn't crisped evenly by the end, slide the joint under a hot grill for a few minutes. Watch it the way you'd watch toast. It goes from perfect to burnt in the time it takes to answer the phone.
5. 5

   Make the apple sauce

   While the pork roasts, make the apple sauce. Put the chopped Bramleys in a saucepan with the sugar, butter, and a splash of water. Cover and cook over a low heat, stirring now and then, until the apples have collapsed into a sharp, fluffy purée. Ten to fifteen minutes. Bramleys do this willingly. They fall apart almost eagerly, which is exactly why no other apple will do here. Add the lemon juice. Taste it. The sauce should be sharp enough to cut through the richness of the pork. If it's too tart, a touch more sugar. If it's too sweet, more lemon. Your tongue knows.

6. 6

   Rest, make gravy, carve

   Lift the pork onto a warm carving board and cover it loosely with foil. It needs twenty to thirty minutes of rest. This isn't optional. The meat relaxes, the juices settle back in, and everything becomes easier to carve. While it rests, make the gravy. Set the roasting tin over a medium heat on the hob. Spoon off most of the fat, leaving a couple of tablespoons and all the sticky, caramelised bits clinging to the bottom. Sprinkle in the flour and stir it through for a minute. Pour in the cider or wine and let it bubble fiercely, scraping up everything from the base of the tin. Add the stock and let it simmer for five to ten minutes until it tastes deep and savoury, slightly sweet from the roasted vegetables. Strain it into a warm jug, pressing the vegetables with the back of a spoon to get every drop. Carve the pork in thick slices, crackling still attached. Serve with the apple sauce, the gravy, and whatever else the season suggests. Roast potatoes. Greens. You know what to do.

Chef Tips

• •Talk to your butcher. Ask for a loin with the bone in and the skin still on, scored in tight lines. A bone-in joint has more flavour and the bone acts as a natural rack in the tin. If the butcher hasn't scored the skin, they'll do it for you while you wait. That's what they're there for.
• •Dry skin is everything. Leave the joint uncovered in the fridge overnight if you can, or for at least a few hours. The drier the skin, the better the crackling. I know it feels like a fuss, but this is the single step that makes the difference between something you're proud of and something you quietly don't mention.
• •Use Bramleys for the apple sauce. No other apple does what a Bramley does: that sharp, almost aggressive acidity that collapses into froth in the pan. Eating apples won't give you the same thing. They hold their shape too well and taste too sweet. You need the sharpness to stand up to the pork.
• •Don't waste what's in the roasting tin. Those sticky, caramelised bits on the bottom are flavour you've spent two hours building. A splash of cider, a pour of good stock, a few minutes of scraping and simmering, and you've got a gravy worth more than anything that ever came from a packet.

Advance Preparation

• •Score and salt the skin the night before and leave the joint uncovered in the fridge. This is the single best thing you can do for your crackling, and it costs you nothing but forethought.
• •Apple sauce can be made up to three days ahead and kept refrigerated. Reheat gently or serve it at room temperature. It's good either way.
• •The gravy base can be started by roasting the vegetables in the tin while the pork rests, but the final gravy is best made fresh from the pan drippings. It only takes ten minutes and it's worth every one of them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 370g)