Happiness is......(part2 in a series)

Happiness is the perfect piece of pork.

A while ago I wrote about our trip to Barleylands Country Show and all the glorious food to be had there. I was so caught up typing away about the food eaten on the day I completely omitted the biggest find of the day - the ultimate joint of pork.

Tucked away in the stifling food tent (this was the beginning of September, when we still had humidity), a glorious display of meat from the Long Ghyll Farms. Deeply marbled, almost-purple beef, juicy hunks of lamb and most importantly - heavenly looking pork. I was deeply impressed that they had taken the trouble to bring along more obscure cuts like feather steak and less popular joints, like belly pork. Taking to a food show such items which lack the mass-appeal of the ubiquitous sirloin or loin must always be a gamble for producers, and I was thrilled to know it was seen as worth the risk by these guys. Staring at so much delicious-looking meat it was obvious I had to buy something, but this rare-breed meat does not come cheap so we restricted ourselves to one thing, a roasting joint for the next day.

A hefty 3kg rolled shoulder of pork went in the bag, and I must admit it smelt so good RAW that I couldn't stop sniffing it and (yes really) hugging it. I just couldn't wait to get it home and cook it! We had got the butcher (who was the perfect charming, helpful and incredibly knowledgeable man one would always want in a meat purveyor) to deeply score the skin, and so all it needed was a sprinkle of Maldon Sea Salt and it was ready for the oven. With such a large joint of pork, even with a reliable oven and tried-and-tested temperature&timings it can be tricky to get properly cooked pork all the way to the centre AND decent crackling. Not wanting to contract Trichinosis, even if it meant I got golden crackling, I gave the joint the full whack, as per Meat - Hugh F-W's trusty instructions. Another downside (if you can really call it that) of such a big joint is that it takes quite a long time to cook. Within a few minutes of putting the pork into the oven, the most mouth-watering aromas started wafting round the house, making us all frantic with desire to taste it.



After 3 hours, well....behold the results above. The meat was still juicy as anything, even the burnished ends (my favourite part), the crackling perfection in its golden crispy bubblyness - with not a speck of charring anywhere! Looks aside, the proof of the pork is in the gobbling, and the meat passed the tastebud test with a billion flying colours. The juices exuded from the meat during cooking were so flavoursome it needed no more than a splash of boiling water and a spoonful of cornflour to thicken to make the ultimate gravy, it honestly didn't need so much as a splash of wine or even seasoning! The moans of pleasure around the dining table were positively indecent. The joy of the shoulder joint is that it is (unfashionably) fatty, and as every foodie should know these days - fat means flavour. It also means the meat doesn't dry out as it is internally basted (handily also removing one chore from the cooking process). The inch-thick layer of fat under the skin of the joint had melted away to almost nothing and had soaked into the meat, meaning not one slice was even vaguely dry (the curse of lean meat). There was just enough wobbly fat left on the surface to satisfy the truly gluttonous amongst us, though I understand health-conscious people really would want to cut it off, that's fine with me - the fat has already done its stirling work by this point! We served it with the last of the season's home-grown runner beans and sweetcorn (on the cob) and it was the perfect end of summer/start of autumn celebration of food.

I really can't recommend these guys enough, and they do mail-order! If you can get to one of the shows they patronise I really recommend you go (look HERE or simply take my word for it, go to the website and max your credit card. I'm planning on trying their beef next, but as soon as I have the money, I'll be stocking up on some more pork for sure!