The Perfect Pork Roast Recipe with Fennel Seeds {Gluten-Free}
A guide on how to cook the perfect roast pork (slathered with garlic and fennel seeds).
Making the perfect roast pork in our house tends to be an occasion with a triple dose of happiness. You’ve got anticipation; hot roast pork and then lovely leftovers. So – more of it please.
The anticipation is obvious. You’ve got this gorgeous roasting smell coming from the oven. Not just the meat but the herbs it has been slathered in. This really gets the taste buds going. You’re looking at the watch, trying to make time fly until it is done. And then when it comes out of the oven, in a cloud of steam as you wait for it to rest. Oh the joy.
Then there is tucking in to the delicious slices of juicy meat, served with golden roast potatoes or warm plantains, all slathered in gravy. Any one for seconds or thirds?
THEN, the leftovers. Lovely cold pork sandwiches packed into fresh bread complete with a heaving portion of baked plantains and peanut butter gravy or caraway, apple and Brussels sprout slaw.
As you can see – it is a three-pronged big deal and I love every minute of it.
A word about how to cook the perfect roast pork…..
The best way to be sure that your pork is perfectly cooked is to check its temperature when roasting. The guideline is that the centre of the meat should get to 63C (145 F). Obviously, you need a fab thermometer to measure this. You then need to let it rest for a few minutes afterward before carving it up.
Nuff said – here is how to cook the perfect roast pork all slathered in fennel and garlic and with a golden crispy crackling.
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The Perfect Roast Pork with Fennel Seeds
Ingredients
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 3 garlic cloves minced
To serve
- Roast potatoes
- Baked plantains
- Coleslaw
Instructions
- Ideally you take the pork out of the fridge at least an hour before you're going to cook it (so your oven is not having to heat it from fridge temperature, but from room temperature). Sprinkle salt on the skin. When this causes beads of moisture to show, dab these off with a kitchen towel, and put some more salt on (this dries the skin, to make better crackling).
- Using a sharp knife score the rind of the pork (your butcher should be able to do this). Then scatter a final sprinkle of salt on the skin.
- Preheat the oven to the highest setting you have.
- Grind the fennel seeds, the garlic and salt in a pestle and mortar. Smear this mixture over all the flesh sides of the pork.
- Make a couple of deep slits into the flesh of the pork and put some of the mixture in too - to get it to the middle.
- Transfer pork skin side up to a lightly oiled roasting tray and roast for about 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to fan assisted 140C / 160C / 325F / gas 3 and roast for 25 minutes per 500g, until the middle of the joint reads 63C (145 F) with your thermometer.
- Take the meat out (and this bit is critical - even if you are hungry, you MUST do this) and rest it for at least 15 minutes.
- Serve sliced with roast potatoes, plantains and gravy.
The thermapen does sound good – I use an old meat thermometer but it is so slow! The food is cold by the time you get a decent reading! Interesting spice rub too – one for the scrapbook!
my husband only likes pork if its not plain roasted or a plain grilled chop, this sounds like another way of getting him eating more of it, thanks very much for sharing
This sounds delicious! I’ve been pining for a thermometer for ages – so useful for meats and sugarwork.
I hope you get yourself one too.
I wish I liked pork because this looks super yum!
Ashleigh
No worries – I hope I inspire you to roast whatever you like instead.
OOO MY GOODNESS…. That just looks amazing…. Am definitely pinning for holiday ideas. How can I resist so much porkness? And I need that that thermometer too!!!!
I love it – porkness is going to be my new word.
Hope Santa’s listening. Your crackling is a work of art.
Hahaha. I hope Santa is listening too.
Wow Bintu your roast pork looks just divine and I’ve never thought to rub anything onto mine, only lamb gets a makeover in this house! The Thermapen is great isn’t it, so versatile and user friendly:-)
I love the Thermapan, I actually threw my other thermometer away after I had run my temperature test.
OMG this sounds amazing!!! Super yummy!! Look those pictures!! You make me hungry now!! LOL x
That was the plan Franca. Go get yourself a Thermapen and some pork and roast away.
I love new kitchen gadgets like this! I sounds like its very accurate and fast.
Roxie x
I loved it so much that I threw my old one away.
You have just given me inspiration for my friend who loves pork! I am a vegetarian but I love cooking for others.
😀
You have just given me inspiration for my friend who loves pork! I am a vegetarian but I love cooking for others.
You can use it yourself Ana to make lovelies like fudge and jam.
You’ve made me really hungry with your beautiful photos and description of that juicy roasted pork…. great post Mabintu and it sounds like a great little gadget too.
Thanks Katie, defo a great gadget for the perfect roast pork.
This sounds lovely – I really like fennel and pork together. The thermapen sounds like it might reassure my mother in law that she’s not going to poison people with her meat. It may have to make her Christmas list!
Hahahahaha Penelope, you definitely need to get a Thermapen for your MIL.