Sunday Roast Pork Loin with Shatteringly Crisp Crackling and Cider Gravy

⏱ 140 min · Serves 6

A generous joint of pork loin, rubbed with salt and fennel, roasted until the skin blisters into golden shards. The pan juices become a sharp, sweet cider gravy — the whole thing tastes like a proper Sunday afternoon.

Per serving: 720 kcal · 62.0g protein · 13.0g carbs · 46.0g fat

Ingredients

• 2 kg bone-in pork loin, skin scored at 1cm intervals (ask your butcher)
• 2 tbsp flaky sea salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 2 onions, thickly sliced
• 3 carrots, halved lengthways
• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 300 ml dry cider
• 300 ml chicken or pork stock
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp cider vinegar

Method

1. Take the pork out of the fridge 1 hour before cooking. Pat the skin bone dry with kitchen paper — this is the single most important step for crackling.
2. Heat the oven to 240C/220C fan. Rub the skin with the oil, then massage the flaky salt into the scores. Sprinkle the fennel seeds and pepper over the meat (not the skin, or they'll burn).
3. Scatter the onions, carrots, garlic and thyme in a roasting tin and sit the pork on top, skin side up, so the joint is lifted clear of the juices.
4. Roast at high heat for 30 minutes until the skin has puffed and started to blister.
5. Reduce the oven to 180C/160C fan. Pour the cider into the tin, around the vegetables, avoiding the skin. Roast for a further 60-70 minutes, until a thermometer in the thickest part reads 63C.
6. If any patch of skin is still leathery, cut the crackling off in one piece and return it to a 240C oven on a tray for 8-10 minutes while the meat rests.
7. Lift the pork onto a board, cover loosely with foil and rest for 20 minutes. Do not cover the crackling.
8. Spoon most of the fat from the tin, leaving the vegetables and juices. Set the tin over a medium hob heat, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the stock. Simmer for 5 minutes, mashing the vegetables to release flavour.
9. Strain the gravy into a pan, stir in the mustard and vinegar, and season. Keep warm.
10. Snap the crackling into shards, carve the pork into thick slices and serve with the gravy, roast potatoes and greens.