There is nothing quite like a roast pork with crunchy, golden crackling! Two tips: before you start cooking ensure your barbecue is clean and the pork skin is dry.
Ensure your barbecue is clean and free from any grease or debris. Prepare the barbecue for indirect cooking over high heat (230° to 260°C). If using a Weber® Q barbecue, set up your barbecue with a convection tray and a trivet.
Dry the skin of the pork and score the skin if the butcher hasn’t done so already. Score through the rind and just into the fat, about 3mm deep and at 1cm intervals. Rub a little olive oil all over the pork. Season and rub salt all over, especially giving the rind a good coating of salt.
Roast the pork over indirect high heat, with the lid closed, for 20 to 30 minutes to crackle the skin; avoid lifting the lid during this time.
Roast the pork over high heat, with the lid closed, for 20 to 30 minutes to crackle the skin; avoid lifting the lid during this time.
Adjust the barbecue temperature to indirect medium heat (190° to 230°C), the roast setting, and continue to cook over indirect medium heat for the remaining cooking time, or until the internal temperature reaches 60°C for a medium result. The internal temperature will continue to rise 3°C to 6°C while resting (final doneness temperature for Pork is 63°C for medium, 68°C for medium well).
Adjust the barbecue temperature to medium heat (190° to 230°C), the roast setting, and continue to cook over medium heat for the remaining cooking time, or until the internal temperature reaches 60°C for a medium result. The internal temperature will continue to rise 3°C to 6°C while resting (final doneness temperature for Pork is 63°C for medium, 68°C for medium well).
Once the pork has cooked, leave to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Recipe Tips:
1. Avoid buying vacuum sealed pork, which has been packed in plastic, as it is much harder to crackle.
2. If the skin is pale and not dry, leave uncovered in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours to dry out the skin. You can cover the flesh with plastic wrap to prevent the flesh from also drying out.3. To calculate the cooking time for your roast, measure the thickness (not length) of the roast and calculate 1 minute per millimetre. For example, the pictured roast measured 80mm thick, therefore the cooking time was 80 minutes. Alternatively use an internal meat thermometer. 4. If the pork has cooked but the rind hasn’t crackled, remove the rind and return the rind to the barbecue and roast over indirect medium heat (190°C to 230°C) for 15 minutes to crackle whilst the pork roast is resting.
