*Roast Pork With Crispy Cracklin*
Serves 6 to 8

I have always loved a roast pork.  Crispy brown on the outside, the tender meat studded with slivers of garlic, and dusted with plenty of salt and pepper, this is a real favourite Sunday Lunch around here.  Served with Crispy Roast Potatoes and all the traditional veg, not to mention a tasty gravy.  (If you can remember, take it out of it's wrapping the night before and store open to the air in the fridge.  This helps to make a nice dry and crisp cracklin)

4 4/1 to 5 1/2 pound leg or shoulder of pork, with a good layer of fat and crackling attached
(Or a chined loin)
sea salt
cracked black pepper
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled and slivered
olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced

Pre-heat the oven to 220*C/425*F.  Bring your roast to room temperature.

Take a sharp knife and, turning the roast upside down, make some sharp stabs into the meat all over.  Insert slivers of garlic into the holes, then massage to close them up.  Season the meat well with some salt and black pepper.  Place meat side down, on top of the sliced onion, in a large roasting tin.  Rub the crackling with a little bit of olive oil and then sprinkle sea salt all over it.

Place into the oven and roast for 30 minutes.  Reduce the oven heat to 170*C/325*F.  Continue to roast, allowing approximately 35 minutes per pound.  The crackling should be crispy and the juices run clear when it is done.

Remove the roast to a platter.  Don't cover the joint as this will sog up the crackling. 

To make gravy, skim any fat from the pan, and discard the onion.  Add about 2 cups beef or chicken stock to the roasting pan and heat over medium heat, stirring to release any crispy bits.  Shake 1/4 cup of flour together in a jar with 1 cup of cold water.  Strain this into the stock, whisking constantly.  Cook, whisking until the mixture bubbles and thickens.  Season to taste with a bit of salt and pepper.  I also like to add a bit of horseradish sauce for some extra flavour.

Remove the crackling from the roast and chop into pieces to serve.  Slice the roast and serve with the crackling and gravy.