Tag: scott rea
-
Scott Rea’s Roast Pork With Perfect Crackling
I have struggled to make roast pork with the perfect crackling forever and a day.
Until now!
Scott Rea guarantees perfect crackling if you follow his pork roast preparation and oven directions. They really do work and I have even tried to prove him wrong. He isn’t and I have linked to his video at the end of the post.
I know what you are thinking, surely it won’t work in a charcoal weber BBQ.
Scott’s Key Tips:
- The best tool for scoring the pork skin is a Stanely knife. Not only are the blades super sharp but you can set it to the right length to slice the fat but not the meat itself.
- Bring the joint out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking to bring it to room temperature. This time will vary depending on the climate.
- Don’t salt the pork fat until right before you cook it. Too early will make the fat moist and it won’t crackle properly.
The Day Before
- Buy your pork joint at least a day or two before you intend to roast it.
- Take it out of the vacuum pack, if that is how you got it, and pat it dry.
- Use a Stanley knife to score the fat of the pork cut you are using.
- Put the pork, uncovered, into the fridge overnight to let the fat dry out (don’t salt it at this point).
The Next Day
- Take the pork out a few hours prior to cooking to bring it to room temperature.
- Preheat your fan-forced oven to 240C.
- Rub salt into the fat’s cuts.
- Optionally get some fennel seeds and or black pepper into them too.
- Cut a bunch of onions or potatoes into slices and layer them in an oven tray to keep the pork off the bottom of the tray.
- Add some water to the tray to stop the vegetable bed from burning and also keep the meat moist.
COOKING TIME
Cook the pork at 240C for 30 minutes so that the crackling looks like this.
Then lower the oven temperature to 180C and cook the roast for another 45 minutes per 450g (~1lb). I also check that the meat’s core temperature is 77C (well done).
Let it rest for 15 minutes and then it will carve perfectly and the meat will melt in your mouth.
Serving
Apple sauce and gravy of course. You could even try Roasted Apples for that something different. 🙂
The Scott Rea Project’s Video
Drop Scott a line if like me, this has cured your crackling problems,
PK
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
MOAR PORK GOODNESS
ROASTS
MORE SCOTT REA TIPS
Please consider subscribing to a weekly email summary of our posts or check us out on Facebook @growitcatchitcookit.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
Rabbit Whole: How To Break It Down
I love eating rabbit. I don’t know about wild rabbit but farmed rabbit meat is every bit as tender as chicken and for me at least, that little bit novel.
I follow Scott Rea’s advice when I break down whole rabbits (see his FB page https://www.facebook.com/Scottreaproject for great catching, butchery and cooking advice).
First I remove the pluck.
Then I cut through the backbone just below the rib cage.
I remove the front legs like I would a chicken’s wings (see chicken wings).
Then I remove the back legs, again using the same technique as I would on a chicken (see chicken legs).
That left me with with the trunk which is simply the best looking cut I have ever seen.
You could even simply cut the whole rabbit below the rib cage and cook the back half on the barbecue. The front end goes into my Rabbit Stock.
In 2018 I will explore cooking methods and recipes to bring out the best in this lean meat.
Enjoy,
PK
Related Links:
Please consider subscribing to get a weekly email summary of our posts.
[mc4wp_form id=”15771″]
Written by
·
-
What Is A Chantry Knife Sharpener?
I treated myself to this chantry knife sharpener after seeing it in one of Scott Rea’s videos titled ‘tools of a master butcher’. If it is good enough for the Scott Rea Project then it is is good enough for yours truly. 🙂
Remember that we are not putting an edge on the knife here, we are simply uncurling that edge so that we have no “blunt” parts (caused by misalignment) hence making the knife cut easlier.
I have an excellent hand steel (links to videos on how to use them below) and my pride and joy is my 25cm Victorinox Swibo Rigid Butchers Knife. As a beginner though I can sometimes do more harm with my steel than good.
With the chantry knife sharpener the angle of the built in mini rolling steels remains perfect with every pull through of the knife. I can attest that after a few pulls the knives are extremely sharp and that means they are safer to use (with all due respect).
Enjoy and be careful,
PK
Here are some more knife sharpening and general knife info posts:
Written by
·