Recipes

Roast suckling pork forequarter

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Ingredients

  • •
    1 x 2-3kg suckling pig forequarter on the bone
  • •
    5g Quatre Epice
  • •
    ½ bunch of thyme
  • •
    2 quarter segments of preserved lemon
  • •
    1 x fresh lemon
  • •
    1 Quarm garlic
  • •
    50ml olive oil
  • •
    50ml verjuice
  • •
    60g sea salt
  • •
    500ml chicken stock
  • •
    2 bulbs witlof
  • •
    1 bunch rocket
  • •
    1 head of radicchio
  • •
    1 shallot
  • •
    Vinocotto

Method

  1. 1.
    Start this recipe one day in advance. Score the skin on the suckling forequarter carefully. Plunge the joint into a pot of boiling water for two minutes or so until the skin is completely scalded (you will notice a distinct whitening and firming of the skin).
  2. 2.
    Place forequarter on a wire rack inside a baking tray and leave uncovered in the fridge overnight to dry the skin out.
  3. 3.
    About 6-8 hours before cooking mix your salt and quatre epice together. Rub the seasoning mix firmly into the skin – making sure you massage it in between the score marks. Leave out of the fridge to get to room temperature. Cut your quarm of garlic in half and rub the ends into the skin as well – and rub joint with olive oil and the juice from the preserved lemon and scatter with thyme sprigs.
  4. 4.
    After 6-8 hours preheat your oven to 140 – 160 degrees C. and place the shoulder in to roast for approximately 3 hours. Once the flesh is soft to the touch – strain the fat from the pan into a separate container and reserve. Add chicken stock to the base of the pan and return to the oven – this time at 250 degrees c.
  5. 5.
    Slice your preserved lemons and take the zest and juice from the fresh lemon.
  6. 6.
    Leave in the oven long enough for the skin to get a burnish brown colour – you can crackle the skin if you wish but I prefer not to – or at least not completely – as the soft chewy texture of the pork skin and the soft luscious meat are the point of the exercise!
  7. 7.
    Take the roast out and de-glaze with the 50 ml of verjuice and scatter your sliced preserved lemons over it and the fresh zest and the juice of half the lemon– rest for approx 30 minutes.
  8. 8.
    While the meat is resting make a quick dressing using the rest of the olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, a pinch of salt and add vino cotto to taste. Thinly slice the shallot and add to the salad dressing. Rinse the lettuces and separate them in a bowl.
  9. 9.
    Serve the roast whole on a platter and take to the table to carve. Either serve with the juices as they are or you could thicken them if desired – sprinkle the roast with some fresh thyme.
  10. 10.
    Serve with a witlof, raddichio and rocket salad.