Pork and Burnt Crackling

My original intentions were pork and crackling, but I was too engrossed in some television programme that I lost track of time. By the time I realized and sprinted to the kitchen, the oven was already giving off slightly unpleasant fumes. The good news, it was still edible, the bad news, the crackling was burnt. I scrapped off the very charred bits and brought it as my pot luck dish anyway. Thankfully, the meat was still moist and no one seemed to have minded the burnt bits.

Pork and Crackling
Serves 8



Ingredients:
½ pork loin, bone removed, scored
salt
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
½ tbsp fennel seeds
5 cloves garlic
½ cup balsamic vinegar
4 bay leaves
2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

Lay out your pork on a board and rub some salt and chopped rosemary into the scored lines, trying to get this into every bit by pushing and rubbing in. Rub the skin of the pork with lots of sea salt as it will help to dry out the skin for good crackling.

In a mortar and pestle, smash up the fennel seeds, the garlic, then the remaining rosemary, and rub this into the meat – not the skin, or it will burn.

In a bowl, marinate the pork with balsamic vinegar, bay and olive oil and leave for about ½ hour.

Preheat the oven to 230°c. Place the pork on the top rack of the oven. The pork will take about an hour the cook. After 20 minutes, turn down the oven to 200°c and keep roasting for about 40 minutes. Allow the meat to rest for at least 10 minutes, slice and serve.