Roasting pork can be a delicious and satisfying meal for any occasion. Here are some more detailed instructions for roasting different pork joints.
Loin & Leg Joints
Most Roast Pork cooking instructions for loin and leg recipes just give generic minutes x weight cooking instructions when the real secret to these quicker cooking pork joints is the internal temperature of the meat, so we advise getting yourself a meat thermometer. According to the UK Food Standards Agency pork needs to reach an internal temperature of 75 C for 2minutes, to kill off any harmful bugs. Interestingly enough the US equivalent has a lower temperature which is 62.78 C.
- Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan) and take the pork out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Pat the pork dry with kitchen paper, score the skin with a sharp knife and rub with salt and oil. Place the pork in a roasting tray and roast for 20 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (160°C fan) and continue roasting until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 70°C. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.
- Resting joints continue to cook after they leave the oven, if you want to achieve an internal temp of 75 C and not overcook the joint you might want to consider taking the joint out at 70 C and after 10 mins resting it should have reached 75 C. It’s important to monitor this with a meat thermometer.
Shoulder Joints
- We believe it’s best to cook shoulder low and slow. These muscles have been worked the hardest by the pig, particularly free-range ones who have been digging and rooting in the soil, and a slow cook is necessary to break down the muscle fibres.
- Although there’s no need to worry about being precise with this style of cooking, it’s best to preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan) and take the pork out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Pat the pork dry with kitchen paper, score the skin with a sharp knife and rub with salt and oil. Place in the oven to get the crackling going then turn down to 140 C (120°C fan) for 5 – 6 hours. The pork should be cooked until it’s tender and falls apart easily.
- Remove the pork from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before shredding it with a fork.
Belly
Always roast flat for a consistent cook (i.e., if it has been rolled by the butcher, cut the strings and lay it flat in the roasting tin). Belly is the fattiest cut of pork, which is awesome for flavour but can be a bit rich for some people. We recommend raising the joint off the floor of the roasting tin so that the fat can drain out of the joint as the meat is cooking.
- Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan) and take the pork out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Pat the pork dry with kitchen paper, score the skin with a sharp knife and rub with salt and oil. Place the pork in a roasting tray and roast for 20 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C (160°C fan) and continue roasting until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 70°C. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature.
- Remove the pork from the oven and drain the fat from the roasting tray. Return the pork to the tray and roast for a further 20 minutes.
- Remove the pork from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.
Read about our free-range Blythburgh Pork