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Slow-cooked tamarind- glazed pork
Serves 6-8 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 1tbsp sea salt
- 1tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 boneless pork shoulder, about 1.5–2kg, fat scored (your butcher can do this for you) and tied with string
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 red chilli, sliced
- 500ml orange juice
- 100ml pomegranate molasses
- 50ml tamarind paste or concentrate
- 50ml white wine vinegar
- 2tbsp clear honey
- 2tbsp peeled and finely
- chopped fresh root ginger
- 1tbsp chipotle chilli paste
- 2tsp English mustard
- good pinch salt
- seeds of 1 pomegranate
Method
Preheat the oven to 240°C/475°F/ Gas 9. Grind the salt and fennel seeds together with a pestle and mortar. Rub it all over the pork, making sure you get it deep into the cuts.
Lay the onions, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and chilli in the base of a roasting tray (one that fits the pork snugly) and place the pork on top, skin-side up. Pop in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the crackling is golden brown and hard to the touch.
In the meantime, mix all the remaining ingredients, except the pomegranate seeds, together.
Once the crackling is ready, reduce the oven to 140°C/275°F/ Gas 1 and pour the orange juice mixture over the onions. Baste a little on to the flesh of the pork (not the crackling, or it will burn) and cook, uncovered, for about 4 hours, basting the meat every now and again. If you want to cook it for longer, then lower the heat. I suggest for every 10°C/25°F/Gas mark lower you go, add on an extra hour of cooking time. The longer you cook it, the better it will be.
Take the pork out of the oven and baste one more time, including the crackling this time, then cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for around 20 minutes. The sauce in the roasting tray is going to be the gravy, so make sure you skim off any fat that rises to the top. If you prefer, you can pour the sauce into a saucepan and heat on the hob until thickened.
Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds over the pork and serve with lots of the gravy and the usual trimmings of roasties and greens.
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