Pork Shoulder Roast with Crackling

A colleague of mine recommended a quality butcher to me which sets within a garden centre, what an unusual choice of premises. I was ambivalent about its selection and quality. Much to my surprise, the butcher counter has a huge selection of cuts of meat along with other food products. It even has a carcass hanging in the back of the shop front which you can easily specific your choice of cut.  

This Bevan's Butchers has a butcher counter within the Longacrse Garden Centre in Bagshot really is worth a visit. It offers more than meat, but also pies, cooked meat, cured meat, cheese, fish and more. Moreover, the staffs are so polite and knowledgable, the service is absolutely superb. Obviously the reason for my visit is for the quality meat, and the price is higher than average so this is a treat.

I bought a small piece of pork shoulder joint for a 2-person roast dinner.

Serves 2

500g pork shoulder joint
2 carrots, peeled and quartered
1 bunch of fine beans
2 potatoes, peeled and quartered

For your perfect roast potatoes, please click here.

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. Season the joint with a good amount of freshly milled sea salt & peppercorn.
3. Place the joint into a roast tin skin side up and ensure the skin is dry. Scored the skin with a sharp knife.
4. Rub more sea salt over the skin and into the creases. 
5. Place the meat into the oven and cook for 30 minutes before turning the heat down to 180°C.
6. In a separate roast tin, put the quartered potatoes and carrots int and drizzle some rapeseed oil all over. 
7. Season with freshly milled sea salt & peppercorn and place into the oven. Cook for further 60 minutes together with the meat.
8. Take the meat out and run a knife through the middle. If the juice is clear then set it aside to rest whilst steaming the fine beans; if the juice is bloody, return the joint into the oven for a further 10 minutes or until cooked through.
9. Bring a pan of water to the boil and steam the fine beans. 
10. Carve up the joint and serve up.