Slow-roasted shoulder of pork

Slow cooking makes the shoulder’s toughness melt away, leaving you with lovely tender meat.

Serves 6 Prep 20 mins Cook 3 hrs

4-5 garlic cloves

2 red chillies, deseeded and

roughly chopped

2.75-3kg shoulder of pork (also called the blade) on the bone, skin on and scored (ask the butcher to do this for you) 5 lemons, juiced

2 tbsp olive oil

300ml chicken stock large bunch of oregano, leaves picked

1 Heat the oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Using a mortar and pestle, smash the garlic with the chillies and some salt and pepper. Stab holes all over the fleshy side of the meat, then rub in the chilli mixture, pushing it into the holes and any gaps between the muscles. Place the shoulder on a rack in a roasting tin, then roast for 30 mins or until the skin begins to crackle, blister and brown. Pour over half the lemon juice and all of the oil. Reduce the heat to 180C/160C fan/gas 4, then roast for about 2 hrs. The shoulder is ready when it is completely soft under the crisp skin. You can tell by prodding it with a roasting fork – the meat should be tender enough to give way. Set aside to rest.

2 While the meat rests, make the gravy. Tip all the fat out of the roasting tin, then place the tin over a low heat on the hob. Tip in the rest of the lemon juice, then sizzle, scraping any sticky bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Pour in the stock, then bring to the boil. Strain the gravy through a sieve into a small saucepan, add the oregano leaves, then simmer for a moment. Serve each person some of the crisp skin and meat cut from different parts of the shoulder. Serve with the side dishes (see recipes, below), and some buttered new potatoes.

PER SERVING 610 kcals, fat 39g, saturates 14g,

carbs 1g, sugars none, fibre none, protein 65g, salt 0.7g