Tastes Like Love: Roasted Pork and the Cracklin'
Meet James, a British gentleman with beautiful blue eyes who is generous, loving and has an infectious laugh. He left his comfort zone and decided to pursue one of his passions as 3D animator and is a fantastic example of “It’s never too late to create a new path”. He graciously invited me into his home on a crisp autumn day and was the first volunteer I had for Tastes Like Love.
As a child, the thing that James and his family did every Sunday was a roast dinner. It was either chicken, beef or pork. He loved the flavour of pork and how well it paired with apple sauce. The love of crackling is serious. The combinations of: pork + applesauce, beef + horseradish, and chicken + cranberry would always remind James of the lazy Sunday. He would occasionally help his mum but to be fair, he would usually run in and excitedly ask if they were having a roast. The smells were one of his favourite things as it wafted through the house while watching TV. The importance of helping when James did was gaining the knowledge on recreating the dish. He enjoys cooking and playing around with food and flavours. When the opportunity arises, James makes the most of his time as it is usually constrained. He missed how fun it can be to create art with food. Usually he make an effort to find the recipes that were seen somewhere or recreates delicious dishes from the past. Food is about family, comfort, and is a method of sharing good times while creating valuable memories.
If you could hold onto anything from your elders what would that be?
“My grandma would make amazing meat pies and I regret never learning from her.
Inside the incredible thin pie crust pastry was a delicious minced beef. Everything about it was fantastic. Every time we would visit, we would ask if she was making them. She made a fantastic gravy with the pies and never fell short of amazing. This was when we were young so we didn’t know how to cook then but as she got older, she stopped cooking and making those things. The one time I asked her for the recipe, she couldn’t remember how to make it. I feel that the recipe is lost forever but I still remember everything about it. I remember the flavours, the texture, and the memories associated with it since we didn’t see her often. I wish I had that recipe for sentimental and stomach enjoyment.
My dad was always relaxed and feel like I’ve inherited because my mum is on the other side and can get stressed. From my mum, she always pushed us to do something we enjoy. If you can find those things you enjoy, you have to go and chase it.”
What is one thing you would pass onto young people?
“There are things that you learn from you parents and life events that help you along the way. The biggest thing would be to figure what your insecurities are, as quick as you can, and squash them out. The idea of not being good enough or not this or that, those are some of the most distractive and worst thoughts a person can have. I’ve come to discover that many people have those insecurities. It’s become a crusade of mine if I hear people say they can’t, I try to shut that train of thought down. It did me no good, that ability I wish I had long before I figured it out. If I could teach someone the same, that would be it.”
Before this time, I never had a real roast pork meal. Yes, I’ve had and made porchetta but there’s something about a simple pork roast that is so comforting. In my family, apple sauce was not something common. The only time I would have had apple sauce would have been elementary school and even then, I didn’t see the appeal. The sweetness of the apple sauce, however, was delightful when paired with the saltiness of the pork. James has always been someone who is very important to me. As the first person who jumped to volunteer when I was figuring out this project, he truly meant it when it has become his crusade to push people to go forward. We made a paleo friendly gravy with mostly onions and stock, which I thought was quite fantastic.
Roasted Pork with Potatoes and Onion Gravy
(serves about 3-4 people)
Ingredients
Roasted Pork w/ Cracklin’
2 ½ pounds pork shoulder, skin on
2 tablespoons kosher salt
½ cup oil
1 onion, cut in half
Paleo-friendly Gravy: NomNom Paleo
1 quart chicken broth
2 large onion, roughly chopped
6-8 cloves peeled garlic
½ tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, or coconut oil
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425F
Pat dry the pork skin and using a very sharp knife score the skin all over, taking care not to cut through to the meat.
Drizzle the pork skin with a little olive oil and then massage one tablespoon of salt into the skin forcing it into the score marks. Put the onions into a large roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil and shake around to coat. Sit the pork on top of the vegetables and place into the preheated oven. Cook for half an hour, or until the crackling is crisp and golden-brown.
Turn the oven down to 350F and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the pork is cooked through (the juices will run clear when pierced with a knife). To be honest, it's hard to overcook pork shoulder, so feel free to give it longer.
While the pork is cooking, add the broth, onions, garlic, and thyme into a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil on medium-high. Once boiling, simmer for ~30 minutes on low or until the onions and garlic are really soft.
Pour the onion mixture into a blender, add the butter or oil and blend until gravy-like. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Once pork is ready, set it out for 15-20 minutes to cool and re-absorb it’s own juices. Cut to serve with potatoes, vegetables and gravy!