Saltbush Roast Pork Roll with Crispy Crackling is a native Aussie twist on a classic roast dinner with a few hacks to ensure moist, succulent flavourful pork meat and crispy crackling every time.
By rubbing the inside of the meat all over with the Saltbush, garlicky paste before rolling, it layers flavour all throughout the meat as opposed to just on the outside and rolling it into a nice compact roll, it helps keep the meat nice and moist inside.
Another great hack I like to use when roasting particularly pork is to create an apple and onion trivet underneath the meat to both prevent direct heat going to the meat, but also releases flavours to permeate the meat and keep it super moist while cooking.
The secret to crackling is to ensure the rind is dry before cooking; pat the skin dry and keep it in the fridge uncovered overnight. Patting the skin nice and dry and rubbing it generously with salt then blasting it in a super hot oven for 20 minutes, it makes the most perfect, crispy crackling every. single. time.
Serve alongside your favourite roast veg and all the jammy apple and onion slices underneath and enjoy!
Directions
Remove your pork from the bag the night before and place it rind side up in the refrigerator to dry the skin. Preheat your oven to 220C/200C fan-forced. Add the saltbush, peppermint gum and pepper berries, garlic, and a drizzle of olive oil into a mortar and pestle and pound until they form a paste. Lay your pork loin out flat, skin-side down, and massage the paste all over the underside of the meat. Fold the pork back over into a roll shape and tie with butchers twine in 5cm intervals so it’s nice and secure. Keep your knots underneath for presentation.
Lightly oil the base of a roasting tray and layer the onion and apple slices – this creates a trivet for the pork to cook on to both avoid too much direct heat on the pork meat and overcooking, as well as creates flavourful steam to permeate and moisten the meat as it cooks.
Pat the skin nice and dry with a paper towel. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the skin with a generous pinch of salt and massage it well into the skin. Lay your pork roll on top of the trivet.
Place in the preheated oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, to create a nice browning on the outer skin. Reduce the oven to 190c degrees/170 fan forced, and cook for a further 40 minutes per kilo, which will be just under 2 hours for this size loin. When done, remove the pork from the oven and rest for at least 20 minutes before carving a serving. Top tip – carve the pork with a serrated knife to cut through the crackling, or remove the crackling cap before slicing and serve separately. Serve with your jammy apples and onions and enjoy!
