Roast Pork with Crackling, Peach Bourbon Sauce and Vegetables

Ingredients

• 250 g salt
• fennel seeds
• black peppercorns
• bay leaves
• lemon zest
• thyme
• rosemary
• parboiled peeled maris pipers
• parsnips
• small pumpkin
• 200 g pork shoulder
• red onion
• mustard
• flour
• chicken stock
• bourbon
• peach
• pear
• apple
• onions

Method

1. Score the fat of the pork in a crisscross fashion without cutting into the meat to aid rendering and surface crispiness.
2. In a pestle and mortar, add fennel seeds, black peppercorns, bay leaves, and lemon zest; smash to release oils.
3. Mix the smashed spices with 250 g of salt, then sprinkle the flavored salt into the scored pork fat and all over the pork.
4. Parboil peeled maris pipers and drain, then place in a tray with parsnips and dry roast in a very hot oven.
5. Use a Stanley knife to score the pork skin at a depth of about a centimeter, then rub flavored salt into the crackling.
6. Slice a small pumpkin and place it on top of the pork for roasting.
7. Place the pork on oven bars and roast at 200°C (400°F) until crispy and cooked through, about 1 hour 20 minutes.
8. Prepare the sauce by placing pear, apple, peach, and onions on greaseproof paper, then cook with bourbon wrapped in foil at the side of the oven for about 30 minutes.
9. Let the pork rest, then cook the second crackling piece on oven bars for 30 minutes with pumpkin underneath.
10. Make a gravy by frying 200 g of pork shoulder in a pan with a tablespoon of fat from roast potatoes, then add chopped red onion, a teaspoon of mustard, two tablespoons of flour, a splash of bourbon, and a liter of chicken stock; simmer until thickened.
11. Combine roasted vegetables and reheat until crackling is crispy.
12. Plate the pork with crackling, vegetables, and pour over the peach bourbon gravy.