Lucky me ;D I have been given a 5lb piece of fresh pork leg or shoulder - not sure which - (it was won in a raffle at a restaurant 8)) and won't be able to cook it till Wednesday. Will it keep in the fridge that long or should I freeze it.
Tricia
As long as it's fresh now, it'll certainly keep until Wednesday in the fridge. Howeevr, if it's already near its use-by daye, I'd freeze it. I realise it won't have a date marked, but your nose should be a good guide ;)
Hi Tricia
My mouth is watering just thinking about your lovely win!!
The only thing is the joint is really too big to cook at once. It is better to have it in small joints to ensure that the meat is cooked fully. Maximum size is 4lb and cook for 20 mins per lb and then an extra 15mins.
How many are you feeding on Wednesday? Allow 8 oz raw per person that should be plenty and do not forget to rub some salt or soya sauce on the skin to make it crispy.
Suggest you freeze half and keep half until Wed.
Good luck
Slow cooking method for a 5-lb joint:
3 hours at 225C, then put oven up to 200C for 20 minutes for crackling. My mouth is watering too :P
??? ??? ??? Sounds like a recipe for 5lb of crackling to me! ;D Sure you got ya numbers right, SuperS? ;)
hahahaha :-[
oops sorry did that make you laugh grandma ;)
should be 125C not 225C for the long roast, sorry guys. Hope y'all like crackling!
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Thanks everyone :-*. When I was in Canada visiting my sister in December she did a mouthwatering pork roast by the slow-roasting method. I was going to give her a call to ask her for temperatures etc. Now that Grandma has put Sarah's instructions right I know what to do 8).
I am only cooking for Gordon and myself, but will freeze portions for future use. I always like to have some things frozen for a relatively quick meal if we've been out all afternoon. We had the half a roast duck from Christmas time yesterday. With an orange sauce it was delicious. We finished up some ice-cream from the freezer too, so that gives me a little more space - enough for the pork portions.
I'm used to rubbing the skin with salt, but soy sauce sounds different, so I'll give that a try this time. It's ages since I did a pork roast because it always made such a mess of the oven. Now I have a self-cleaning oven that won't be a problem. Can't wait to see if it will be as good as the one we ate in Canada :).
Tricia
Whew, thank goodness that grandma {what big eyes you have ... ::)} saved bacon (and blushes) just now! :P Thank you :-*
Quote from: tricia on January 21, 2007, 23:28:38
I am only cooking for Gordon and myself, but will freeze portions for future use. I always like to have some things frozen for a relatively quick meal if we've been out all afternoon.
I'm teaching No.1 son household economy, he's really taken to the idea of doing a roast, pot roast or casserole and harvesting leftovers for home made ready meals 8)
The (imperial) cooking times came from an old Philip Harben book over Xmas which fell into my hands when staying with friends. When I have a mo I'll convert them into a table for No.1 son's family cookbook (a Work in Progress). The instructions go up to a
30lb piece of meat, not sure if the average oven could cope with that - or if I've ever seen a bird or joint that size :o
A large well-reared roast can be a big event for us meat eaters :D
Please tricia tell us how it went so we can enjoy it in cyber! (http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e220/supersprout/smilies/10.gif)
Jamie has an all night cook recipe for pork shoulder (if I remember correctly!) can look it up if you fancy giving it a go, it looked mouthwatering...slurp!
If it's shoulder I recommend Hugh Fearlessly's Aromatic shoulder of pork Donnie Brasco. You could put a 5lb joint in at breakfast time and it would be ready at suppertime!
How can I tell if it is shoulder or leg? Is there a big difference in the cut?
The pork joint is about 7cm thick, has a round bone in one side and a more or less triangular bone in the other. There is also a secondary bone coming out of the end.
I've never bought such a large joint before, so if anyone can tell whether it is shoulder or leg from my description I'd be glad to hear.
Tricia
isn't a shoulder joint a bit more fatty than a leg, ?
we use a mix of soy sauce, garlic, lime juice and sesame oil, brushed on and left, lovely :)
Mix some lazy chillies with some lazy garlic and ginger (oh alright chop them fresh if you insist) with a bit of white whine vinegar. Rub it into the slits. Blast it on full oven for half an hour, turn it over and rub in the rest of the mixture. Leave it for up to 24 hours in a low oven. Stolen from Nigella Lawson, very nice - crispy pork on the outside, tender shredded stuff in the middle, I make it on request every few months. Let me know if you want the proper instructions rather than my half remembered version
That's very similar to Hugh F-W's recipe but his includes something slightly aniseedy - think it was star anise.
PS Come to think of it, doesn't leg have skin all round whereas shoulder will only have it on one side?
Quote from: tricia on January 22, 2007, 14:57:36
How can I tell if it is shoulder or leg? Is there a big difference in the cut?
The pork joint is about 7cm thick, has a round bone in one side and a more or less triangular bone in the other. There is also a secondary bone coming out of the end.
Tricia
Could that be a shoulderblade?
All these receeps have really got me going now, cold weather and all ... I can feel a Sunday night feast coming on ::) You a wicked woman tricia ;) ;D
The triangular shaped bone, Sarah, is not a flat blade but a largish piece of bone. Never mind - as it is not in the least bit fatty I'm gonna call it leg and do a long slow roast on Wednesday. Will update after we are bursting at the seams from hogging ourselves - pun intended ;D ;D.
Tricia
Hi tricia just having my tea and was thinking of your loverely Roast Pork - let us know how you got one. I am having jacket potatoe and cheese not quite the same ;D :D :D
Yes, Blue Bird - the pork roast was delicious. It made 10 portions in all. Two for today (very large ones, I might say!) and the rest frozen in portions for future use. I put it in the oven at 12:15pm at 125C, went shopping and forgot about it till the lovely smell of roasting pork greeted us on our return. At 5pm the oven was turned up to 230C and a tray of root veggies was added and roasted for 40 mins. After 30 mins. the pork was taken out, covered with foil and left to rest for 15 mins.
The only thing I would do differently if I ever had such a large roast again, would be to bone it before roasting for easier carving. There was quite a large, odd-shaped, bone in it which made it quite difficult to carve. But the meat was super moist and really tasted like pork as I remember it from my childhood.
Tricia
oo tricia, that sounds soooo scrummy!
I was wondering about bone-in or bone-out. Will remember your advice if I should ever be lucky enough to find such a large joint ;D
Imitation is better late than never eh 8)
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A friend arrived for the weekend complete with 7-lb pork shoulder joint from her local butcher (boned) Four hours at 125C, 25 minutes at 250C at the end. The crackling is light and shatters at the touch of tooth. We'll get twelve fat-finger-width slices (at about £1 each) which will each make a generous meal for two or three. Slicing and freezing tomorrow, when it's cold.
She also brought a fresh Bramley. How thoughtful is that? ;D
Thank you for getting us back into pork again with this thread tricia, economical and dee-licious :-*
SSxx
OMG - or whatever you say in this situation!!
Sarah - my mouth waters :P. Why didn't I think to take a photo of my roast at the time? Pork is really a delicious, tasty meat, isn't it?
So, lucky you to have it already boned. But Gordon's dogs enjoyed the bones in ours, they didn't go to waste.
Tricia