פורום השדים האדומים

Aromatic shoulder of pork ‘Donnie Brasco’

This dish gets its name because you can “fugeddaboutit” while it cooks ever so slowly overnight in a low oven. Actually, versions of this dish have already been enthusiastically championed by both the River Café and Nigella Lawson. I include it here, shameless to be third in the queue, because not only is it a wonderful dish but it is also an incredibly elegant solution to the problem of feeding twenty or more people with minimum effort.

All I can do to claim a stake in it is offer a personalised version of the sweet spice paste (a combination of chilli, garlic, ginger and the classic Chinese five-spice mix) that is rubbed into the rind – and to give it a new, slightly silly, name. But I do urge you to try it.

    1 whole shoulder of pork on the bone — it will weigh about 5-8kg
    5 large garlic cloves, peeled
    5cm piece of fresh ginger root, peeled
    2 tsp dried chilli flakes
    2 tsp ground ginger
    1 tbsp brown sugar
    4 tbsp flaky salt
    1 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil
    1 tbsp soy sauce

For the five-spice mix:

    2 star anise
    2 tsp fennel seeds
    4 cinnamon stick
    4 cloves
    1 tsp black peppercorns

Score the rind of the pork shoulder with a Stanley knife in parallel lines about 1cm apart, to a depth of 4-1cm (or ask your butcher to do this).

Grate the garlic and fresh ginger into a small bowl and mix to a paste with the chilli flakes, ground ginger, brown sugar, salt, oil and soy sauce. Pound the five spices in a pestle and mortar (or grind in a coffee grinder) and mix 1 tablespoonful into the paste (any left over will keep in an airtight jar; you could make larger quantities, if you like, and store).

Place the pork shoulder, skin-side up, on a rack above a large roasting tin. With your fingertips, rub just over half the spice paste into the scored rind of the pork. Place the joint in the centre of a very hot oven (230C/gas mark 8) for 30 minutes (for what I call the “half-hour sizzle”).

Then remove from the oven and, using oven gloves or a thick, dry cloth, carefully turn the joint over to expose the underside. Using a knife or wooden spoon this time (the meat will be very hot), smear the remainder of the spice paste over the underside of the meat (now facing uppermost).

Pour a glass of water into the roasting tin, turn the oven down to 110C/gas mark 2 and replace the joint. Leave for anything from 16-24 hours, turning it skin-side up again, and basting with the fat and juices in the tin, about half way through. About 45 minutes before you want to eat, whack up the heat to 230C/gas mark 8 again to crisp up the crackling. Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.

To serve the pork, remove the crackled skin in a single piece and break it up to hand around your guests. Don’t so much carve as scoop the tender, melting, aromatic meat on to warmed plates. Serve with a simple starch, such as noodles, plain buttered macaroni, boiled rice or even mashed potatoes. I prefer to serve a salad after, rather than greens with, the pork.