Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder

Our most-viewed recipe of all time, this meltingly tender pork is well worth waiting for the slow cook! You should end up with juicy, pull-apart meat and a temptingly crisp crackling.

Prep:
15 mins
Cook:
6 hours
Serves:
4-6

Ingredients

2 kg Freedom Farms boneless pork shoulder, skin on

2 red onions, peeled and quartered

2 carrots, cut into large pieces

2 sticks of celery, cut into quarters

1 bulb of garlic, unpeeled, broken into cloves

6-8 fresh bay leaves

500ml chicken or vegetable stock

Method

An hour before you begin cooking, remove the pork from the fridge and bring it to room temperature

Preheat the oven to 220°C

Place the pork on a clean work surface, skin-side up. Using a very sharp knife, make scores about 1cm apart through the skin and into the fat, but not so deep that you cut into the meat. Rub the skin with salt, then season the underside of the meat with salt and pepper

Place the pork, skin-side up, in a roasting tray and transfer to the oven. Roast for 30 minutes, until the skin has started to puff up and you can see it turning into crackling

Remove the pork from the oven and cover it with a layer of tinfoil. Turn the heat down to 170°C, then return the pork to the oven to roast for a further 4½ hours

Remove the pork from the oven, take off the foil, then baste the meat with the fat from the bottom of the tray. Carefully transfer it to a board

Skim off all but 2 tablespoons of excess fat from the roasting tray. Add the vegetables, garlic, and bay leaves and place the pork on top. Return to the oven, without the foil, for a further hour, or until the meat is meltingly soft and tender

Remove the pork from the oven and carefully transfer it to a serving dish. Cover it with tinfoil and leave it to rest while you make the gravy. Remove the veg and keep it warm

For the gravy, spoon away any fat left in the roasting tray. Pour the pan juices into a medium sized saucepan, along with the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 mins, or until reduced to 1/3 of original volume. When you have a nice dark gravy, pour it through a sieve into jug and season to taste

Serve the pork and crackling with the jug of gravy and the roasted veg alongside