A memorable holiday roast recipe: look beyond turkey
Rethink your Christmas feast with a delicious alternative such as slow-cooked pork
It’s time once again for a dish that’s suitable for a Christmas feast. Most people choose turkey because it ticks the boxes of being fairly easy to prepare (although making the insipid meat taste good takes more effort) and it’s large enough to feed a group. However, a hefty cut of pork works very well as an alternative, and if you use the low-and-slow cooking method, which takes about eight hours, you can start in the morning and it will be ready in plenty of time for your holiday dinner.
Spice-rubbed slow-cooked pork collar
It’s important to choose a cut of pork that has a sufficient amount of fat and connective tissue – sinews and tendons – layered through the meat, which become wonderfully soft and tender when slow-cooked, and help to prevent the roast from drying out. Don’t pick a lean cut such as tenderloin or loin. If you can’t find pork collar, look for boneless shoulder/butt. Skinless pork belly would also work: have the butcher roll it tightly and secure it with kitchen twine (you can do this yourself; look on YouTube for tutorials).
If you’re baking other items for your holiday dinner, you’ll need to plan carefully, because slow-cooking this roast means your oven is tied up for a long time. Fortunately, once the meat reaches the correct internal temperature, the roast will be fine at room temperature for a couple of hours while you use the oven to prepare any side dishes and desserts that need to be baked. You can also use this time to make the gravy. About 30 minutes before it’s time for dinner, put the meat back in the oven to warm through and brown the crust.
When I make roasts, I salt the meat by weight: I use 35 grams per kilo. When you measure out the salt, it looks like a frightfully large amount but the meat won’t be too salty, as long as you give it enough time to penetrate. If you are very salt sensitive, or salting it less than one day in advance, use 25 grams per kilo.
To check the internal temperature of the pork, use a probe-type meat thermometer that you can leave in the roast while it’s in the oven.
1 pork collar, about 2.5kg
Fine sea salt
1 onion, about 250 grams
50 grams peeled garlic cloves
10 grams peeled fresh ginger
5 grams chilli powder
5 grams smoked paprika
20 grams brown or white sugar
1½ tsp oregano
The finely grated zest of one orange
100ml fresh orange juice
15ml extra-virgin olive oil
About 15 grams panko
For the gravy:
The pan drippings
Plain (all-purpose) flour
About 750ml unsalted chicken stock, preferably home-made
Freshly ground black pepper