I recently tweeted about my husband buying me a Hard Drive. The look on his face was pure beaming pride, something about being a good provider for his wife and despite the fact that the Hard Drive was a much needed purchase, I couldn’t help wishing that it was a a pair of shoes. Yes I am a rather ungrateful wife but I am willing to bet that if you were offered a choice between a Hard Drive and a pair of Choos, you’d choose the latter.
However my compass also points to gifts of food and when we were given our goody bags from the Pork Dinner I got extremely excited with my gift – a gorgeous 1.2 kg Murray Valley Moisture Infused rack of pork. It seems that they know that people can overcook pork and therefore this precooking process, similar to brining helps to ensure that the meat remains succulently moist. The possible downside to this is that some find it hard to get a truly crispy crackling with all of this brine as the best crackling is from a very dry rind.
How did I find it? Slicing into it, it’s absolutely gorgeous and moist and not a single bit dry at all. In fact even after leaving it to rest for the requisite time, I found that the juices flowed and I became something of an overawed idiot tweeting such provocative nonsensicalisms such as “I’ve just been porked” and “It was hot and juicy porking”. And of course I went straight for the crackling. I’ve said it before, Crackling is my Crack and this is every bit as crispy as I could’ve dreamed up and a lovely contrast to the super moist meat. The best of both worlds if you will.
Tell me Dear Reader, what is your favourite type of roast? Do you have any tips for a good roast?
Succulent Rack of Pork with Roasted Fennel, Apples & Potatoes
An original recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Serves 2-4
- 1 Moisture Infused pork rack, rind intact, with 4 ribs (about1.2kgs)
- 2 large bulbs fennel, inner core and protruding tops removed and sliced into sixths or eighths
- 2-4 Granny Smith apples, tops cut off and reserved and cored (depending on whether you want a whole apple each)
- 14-15 small cocktail potatoes, halved
- 100ml concentrated veal stock
- 50ml balsamic vinegar
- Rice bran oil
- Salt and pepper
Method:
1. Prepare the pork rind to make crackling by making sure that the rind is as dry as possible by pressing paper towels against the rind only (you want the rest succulent so don’t soak up the brine for the non rind part). Preheat the oven to 230C. Score the pork with a very, very sharp knife and wrap with string as shown. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of coarse salt and some pepper over the skin and rub in 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Place on a non stick baking tray lined with baking paper and bake on this very hot temperature for 30 minutes. The crackling should start to become nice and brown.
The start of the crackling, after 30 minutes in the oven then put in the vegetables and fruit
2. Meanwhile prepare the rest of the vegetables and fruit. When the pork has had its 30 minutes, place the apples, potatoes and fennel around the pork and then drizzle the stock and balsamic over the vegetables being careful to avoid drizzling it on the rind. Drizzle 1-2 tablespoons of oil on top too. Reduce the temperature and bake at 200C for 1 hour.
3. If you want the crackling super, super crispy, raise the temperature of the oven to 240C and place the pork by itself on another lined baking tray and give it a final blast for 10 minutes. It will be beautifully crispy by then. Rest for 15 minutes before carving.
After an extra 10 minutes blistering
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51 Comments | Add your own
Mighty scrumptious! I love pork!
Cheers,
Rosa
mmmm, That does look wonderful. Pork roast are my absolute favourite.
And I am there with you, I would so choose the Choo’s.
A BEEF roast. Slow cooked and juicy!
I’ve never heard of crackling before, but it looks like a fabulous meal!
Awesome job on the crackle…MMM!! Never thought of fennel with apple does it go well? How can wife seem ungrateful when she cooks up a meal like this lol!!
Mm.. now I feel like crackling! This looks delicious!
It looks beautifully tender and moist, with a fantastic crackling! Thanks for the tips about making sure the rind is dry
Ahahaha at ‘cracking is my crack’! It’s not fair, everyones pork posts are making me so hungry for a big juicy piece of pork and some crackling. The mouth started watering at ‘crackling to die for’ *sigh*, it really does look to die for!
Oh that is one awesome rack of pork! And the crackling! THE CRACKLING!!!
I love crackling! It’s so goooood. Been trying to perfect the art of making “siu yok” at home, am improving but still in the process. Have you ever made that? Would be brilliant to get tips from you if you have!
Roast pork (with crackling) is good, but so is roast beef with yorkshire pudding & gravy… ahhh. Bliss.
So beautifully tender and juicy! This dish looks fantastic. I just love the apples and fennel combination.
A pork or beef roast is just fine for me. Love both.
OH MY GWAD, it looks gorgeous!! *faint*
And this cold weather is definitely great for a feast like that for sure, isn’t it?
mmm i’d like the pork fat soaked potato!
Oh this one will be tried within the next few weeks..looks wonderful & I just LOVE crackling
)
This looks delicious! Love the baked apples. My favourite roast has to be a lamb roast, although I am better at cooking chicken. My favourite way of roasting chicken is with lemon and thyme stuffed in the middle, and lemon, thyme, salt and pepper applied liberally to the skin. Simple but effective. And of course, roast root vegetables are a must.
My husband would have enjoyed it greatly. My favorite roast is whole chicken with herbs and butter stuffed under the skin.
Omg…I’m not a big pork fan (probably cha-siu bbq pork once in a blue moon) but you got me droooooling just looking at these pics! Beautiful! and I bet it tasted WONDERFUL! x
I put a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in 2 corners of the baking pan when roasting chicken. This gives a good colour to your gravy later on when you scrape off the bits. Chicken gravy can be insipid otherwise I find.
Mmmm fennel. Who gets free pork delivered to their doorstep? Oh. Right. You! Lucky!
omg… just look at that crackling! i don’t think i can take many more of these porked posts! *drools*
Looks very nice…I happen to have a nice rack of pork in the fridge, so I know what we are having tonight!
I use a mixture of salt, pepper, fennel seeds and dried red chillies (ground up in a mortar) to season the skin to make the crackling.
Kelly – If you put onions or a head of garlic in the pan with your chicken then the natural sugars should give you the same result….
I meant to add – I’ll add another vote for slow cooked roast beef.
Medium rare beef only needs to be brought up to 65 degC, so it can be cooked in a very low oven – I usually do it at around 80-90degC for 6-7 hours.
Oh my goodness very nice presentation!
The rack of pork looks fantastic, crispy and golden, such a great burst of flavor!
Cheers,
Gera
I’m also not a massive fan of pork – apart from bacon and fresh ham – but this does look yum. Maybe I should give roast pork another go…
That is one awesome cut of pork! It looks soo juicy and tender and not to mention the awesome pork crackleeeeeeee my favouriteee!
Lorraine you always seem to stir-up wonderful creations in the kitchen! Which is why i keep coming back!
That looks SO good! I love roast pork- especially crackling. We mostly do roasted pork belly though. I also love roast lamb. Roasted anything is generally pretty good in my books.
Oh yu-um-my!! I love crackle!! That looks so scrumptulicious!
my mum-in-law makes a really awesome roast pork (chinese style) I know she marinades it for at least 3 days in the fridge so that it dries out the skin for awesome crackle!
That is one gorgeous-looking roast!! I love a nice roast beef, especially if I can get one rare piece and one little end piece. Yum!
I’m not so much of a meat-lover, so my fav roast would be root vegetables like pumpkin, kabocha, sweet potatoes, potatoes.
And no way! I don’t care abt choos. I’d rather have a good hard drive to save all my foodie pics!
Right now I am thinking, god that crackling would go so awesome with my salad. Crackling salad. Maybe with a mango dressing. I’ve gone low carb this month and would happily give up all good things carb to eat moisture infused pork. Enjoy your new hard drive. I have a portable one and i love mine.
Aaah winter, it’s a great time to eat comfort food and get fat and cover it all with a big coat.
Looks damn tasty, definitely time to pull out the winter roasts.
OMG…that is a wonderful sight…the golden crackling…the tender meat…I need to get my hands on a nice piece of pork now!
awesome crackling you have there. well done. when i weighed my pork rack it was 1.5 kg but everyone else seems to be quoting 1.2 kg. i wonder if anyone else actually weighted their pork?
Roast pork is my absolute favourite too. But I love any kind of roast really!
Lamb is my absolute favourite roast. Best tip? Get my Mum to make it. Seriously, my best tip is more to do with boiling the spuds first, giving them a bit of a toss to ‘fluff’ them and then into the baking tray with ollive ol and salt etc – makes them crispy on the outside and fluffly on the inside. That crackling looks superb!
I can definitely see how crackly that skin is. I’m sure we all tweet about.. such things.. every once in a while
I love the look of the baked apples, and it’s definitely time I bought some fennel too. You’ve got a great combination of sides.
Yum!!! This looks too good!
Sounds so good!
The crackling is really todie for! Mine always comes out chewy =(
Wow, that pork looks amazing. Your photos are just lovely. I must admit that crackling is one of those guilty (yet satisfying) indulgences and pleasures that I am keen to participate in. Oh, and by the way, just noticing how many posts you put out. How on earth do you find the time!??!!
yummm! sound great.. soo crispy and golden.. my husband is a huge fan of pork
m sure he will love this.. thanx for shring 
cheers!!
pork and apples belong together like me and cinnamon. what a gorgeous rack you’ve got, lorraine.
Wow, what a heavenly delicious and flavorful rack of pork! The fennel and apples are so wonderful here and love the crispy crackling!
great pictures! i know what you mean about your present. my husband won 1200 dollars in vegas and spent all of it eating and drinking-paying for everything for our friends. it would have been cool if he said-go out a buy yourself a great purse-ha-ha.
absolutely gorgeous skin. i could eat the crackling alone. my favorite roast is a toss up b/w a perfectly cooked/seasoned roasted chicken and a pernil-style roasted pork butt/shoulder. fabulous.
What a great looking rack!!
and the cracklinngg yuummm
Hee hee hot and juicy porking XD
Hi Rosa-Thankyou so much!
Hi ArtemisIII-Thanks! I think I like pork (and chicken too). Hehe I bet there’s someone that chooses the hard drive though
Hi Blond Duck-Ahh I haven’t made much roast beef come to think of it!
Hi Barbara-OH really? If you make a pork roast, it’s the best bit
Hi Shanks-It goes so well with it! Haha I like your perspective!
Hi Betty-Thankyou so much!
Hi Anita-Thankyou! You’re welcome! Anything for good crackling
Hi Steph-It’s true!
Sad but true, I’m addicted to crackling!
Hi Trisha-Hehe thankyou!
Hi Su-yin-Ah good idea! I haven’t eaten that much (truth be told I don’t really love it) but I know heaps of people that do. I’ll ask my mum! Ah yes yorkshire pudding-fab stuff!
Hi lisa-Thankyou so much! I bet you do a fantastic roast!
Hi Yas-Hehe why thankyou!
I know, I love the idea of having the oven on for so long too warming up the house 
Haha yes I loved those-I may have eaten quite a few of those 
Hi Elaine -Wonderful! I’d love to know what you think of it!
Hi Cakelaw-Ooh that sounds so delicious and agreed root veges are a must to go with it
Hi Jenny-Yum! That’s such a delicious way to roast a chicken!
Hi Edge-Ah really! Haha thankyou so much! It was very quickly and ravenously eaten
Hi Kelly-Ah very interesting tip-thankyou so much!
Hi The Duo Dishes-Hehe not quite, I’d love it!
Hi Jen-Thanks! Such a shame you couldn’t make it but I’m sure you were having a fab time!
Hi Wayfarer-Thankyou! Ah wonderful
That sounds delicious, especially the addition of chili! Roast beef is definitely a popular choice! Slow roasting it like that sounds delicious 
Hi Gera-Thankyou very much! I love how crackling crunches in little bursts in the mouth
Hi Gab*-Definitely!
This moisture infused version is just gorgeous-it’s not dry at all!
Hi Leona-Thankyou so much! Aww that’s so sweet of you to say!
Hi Bria-Thanks! Yep the crackling is so addictively good
Hehe yes that’s true! 
Hi Caz-Hehe me too! Oh wow, 3 days? That sounds incredible and a real labour of love!
Hi CookiePie-Why thankyou!
Ahh yes the end piece-just like a corner cake piece! 
Hi Sophia-Ahh a vegetable roast is also great!
Haha I knew there’d be someone that would choose the hard drive! 
Hi Maria-Oh yes! A crackling salad is what dreams are made of!
Good luck with the low carb kick! Thankyou, it’s a great practical gift 
Hi Amaya-Haha so true
Yes it’s just the time for salad!
Hi Alexandra-Thankyou so much!
Hi Simon-Thanks! I weighed mine so I could work out how long to cook it. Don’t tell me there’s a competition as to who got the biggest pork rack?
Hi Renee-I have to agree, any roast is a good thing!
Hi Megan-Haha ok! That’s a good tip to preboil the potatoes, especially if you want them whole. Thankyou!
Hi Jude-Thanks! I try not to tweet like that but I was overcome
Hi Arwen-Thankyou! Yes fennel is now in season so it’s definitely a good time to buy it. Thanks!
Hi Megan-Thankyou so much!
Hi Viktoria-Why thankyou!
Hi Pigpigscorner-Aww no, I think if you make sure to dry it out and bake it on really high heat that helps
Hi Julia-Thankyou! I know how bad it is for you but I can’t help it
I have an addiction! 
Hi nora-Thankyou! Wonderful, you’re more than welcome I hope he likes it!
Hi grace-Haha truer words were never spoken! haha why thankyou!
Hi 5 Star Foodie-Thankyou! It was some good eating!
Hi Elle-Hehe I bet your friends loved it but yes you could’ve gotten yourself a great bag!
Hi we are never full-Thankyou! Yes me too
Wow, they both sound delicious!
Hi FFichiban-Thankyou!
Nothing says lovin like a good porking! 
Yum – I love pork! And that golden brown crackling sure looks droolworthy!
A gorgeous pork roast. I too love skin. It’s what I go for first.I once got so excited to eat the roast turkey skin that my mother had to come and give me the Heimlich. Yikes, but still I love it. Your photos are alway amazing, wit and humor too!
Aloha,
Kalua pork is our favorite in Hawaii, but no skin, just shredded…
Oh yum! I can’t wait to try this!
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