It started with a pig

New Year's Resolution: to actually update this blog.  It just all suddenly seemed a bit overwhelming: I had so many restaurants I wanted to write about and so many recipes to share; and so many people seem to be doing the same thing that I felt a bit like I was meant to be in competition.  I'm only doing this because I love it and want to keep myself out of trouble so I'm going to pretend I'm the only one on the internet blogging about food and lose the fear, because fear turns me into a slacker.

I want to write about last night's roast pork as done by my dear mum, who continues to churn out first class meals for five despite having spent ten days feeding nine people over Christmas.  Deserves a big gold chocolate medal, that one.  Anyway, she decided last night that I needed to be taught how to really roast a pig and so I pass on the following simple gems safe in the knowledge that should you choose to follow them you will not fail to create such crackling as till now you have only ever dreamed of.

This Waitrose Hampshire rolled, boned pork loin (probably - mum can't quite remember, even though this happened last night) cost £11.  That is not exactly cheap if you're going to try and eat it yourself, but it fed five of us with seconds last night and I'm taking the other half (seriously, the other half) home tonight for the German and I to feast on.  It was scored quite thickly on purchase so my mother scored it further (ie more narrowly): the key to the ultimate crackly crackling is having it scored really quite thinly.  Next was an all-over coating of Mazola (corn oil: imperative), a generous rubbing of very fat salt flakes and a good grinding of black pepper.  We'd pulled the meat about a bit so had to tie an extra bit of string around it to hold it together, and we let it sit all afternoon to soak up the oil and salt and get itself to room temperature before cooking.  Gas Mark 6 for an hour and a half and - and I'm salivating just thinking about it - the Mazola and the salt flakes produce without question the best crackling I've ever tasted.

Bravo, mum, and thanks for a yet another culinarily flawless Christmas.