Guest Recipe: Jenny's Low & Slow Roasted Pork Recipe

With the dawn of Autumn fast approaching, and the signs of summer becoming a long and distant memory, our hearts and souls will require some accessible warmth and inspiration for the new season’s greetings.

Low and slow recipes, along with delightful meals cooked in slow cookers, roasting trays and casserole dishes can often satisfy the busiest of families. I can thoroughly recommend a decent slow cooker or a very good, large casserole dish or roasting tray to accommodate lots of ingredients to make the most delicious of recipes such as the one recommended below.

Multitasking will easily become attainable and offer the home chef new found freedom in the house whilst the food is bubbling away; ensuring a convenient and delicious mid-week meal for the family.

I just love the depth of taste and texture of a slow-cooked recipe; the hours taken in the slow cooker or in the oven draw out the best from simple British ingredients that eventually grace the plate with an eruption of profound flavour.

This recipe will go a long way and could plate up lots of leftovers for cold snacks and last-minute, quick tummy fillers for later days during the week.

From ‘For The Love Of The Land II: A Cook Book To Celebrate The British Farming Community And Their Food’ by Jenny Jefferies and published by Meze Publishing.

“This recipe is a Saxby family favourite. Not only is it delicious but it can provide great leftovers for pulled pork rolls another day. A big advantage to the low and slow cooking time is you can leave it cooking all day (or overnight) while getting on with other things.” By Phil Saxby of Saxby’s Cider

• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 10 hours
• Total Time: 10 hr 30 min

Serves: 12 servings

Category: Main Dishes,Pork,Slow Cooker,Dinner

Ingredients

• 4 medium carrots, each cut into 3 pieces
• 3 onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 apples, quartered
• 2 whole bulbs of garlic
• 1 bunch of fresh thyme
• 6kg pork shoulder on the bone, with scored skin (from your local butcher)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 500ml Saxby’s Original Cider (or other)
• 500ml chicken stock

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 220°c. Put the roughly chopped carrots, onions, apples, bulbs of garlic and thyme sprigs into a large roasting tray.
2. Pat the pork shoulder all over with olive oil and sit it on top of the vegetables. Now massage the salt and pepper into the skin of the pork.
3. Put the tray on a low shelf in your preheated oven to cook for 30 minutes or until it’s beginning to colour, then turn your oven down to 120°c and leave the pork for 9 hours or until you can pull the meat apart easily with a fork.
4. At this stage, tip the cider into the roasting tray and let it cook for another hour. Take the pork out of the oven and let it rest for half an hour before transferring it to a large board. Cover the meat with foil and let it rest.
5. Remove the vegetables and add the chicken stock to the roasting tray. Put it on the heat, and reduce until you have a lovely gravy. Strain before serving.
6. Serve with your choice's potatoes, green vegetables, and more Saxby’s Cider. Cheers!

For a vegetarian or vegan option just substitute the pork with one large butternut squash, and the chicken stock with vegetable stock, reduce the stock and the cider by half and pre-heat the oven to 200C. 1 bulb of garlic will do, slice the root vegetables into smaller pieces and reduce the total cooking time to between 40 and 45 mins. You may also use any other root vegetable that you find to have a glut of and accompany the carrots as desired. Serve with green vegetables or a simple salad.

Jenny Jeffries is an award-winning author and Food Hero with Love British Food, a member of The Guild of Food Writers, a member of The British Guild of Agricultural Journalists and writes a regular online article for Country & Town House magazine, a monthly food blog for Farmers Guardian and regular articles for Rural Life magazine.

Photography credit: www.paulgregoryphotography.co.uk