Mumma's Beautiful Rolled Pork Loin with Crackling

Crackling.

You need high heat for crackling. Really high heat. It doesn't seem to matter whether you crackle at the beginning of cooking time, then turn down the heat, or crackle at the end once your meat is succulent.
Rules: make sure your meat is scored through the skin.
Buy meat with a good fat layer
Dry the skin thoroughly with a paper towel
Oil and salt the skin well
High heat = good crackle
Use a griller if the crackle hasn't happened and you think the meat is cooked underneath

This is a beautiful combination of pork with rich roast vegetables.
Adapted from Gourmet Traveller.

Take the stuffing to the butcher and get them to stuff for you

Serves 6

Ingredients

1.8kg piece of pork loin

3 small pink lady apples, halved horizontally

200g peeled chestnuts

12 shallots

1/2 cup sage leaves

350mL cider

Stuffing:

4 shallots, finely chopped

4 pink lady apples, coarsely chopped

125mL dry cider

50mL cider vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp coarsely torn sage leaves

Butternut pumpkin, cut into bite-sized pieces

For stuffing:

Heat 1tbsp olive oil and a good knob of butter in a pan, add shallot, cook gently until tender (4-5 mins). Add apple, cider, vinegar, sugar. Stir occasionally until apple is tender and mixture has caramelised and it thick (8-10 mins). Season well with salt and pepper. Leave to cool. Take to your butcher to stuff into your pork loin.

Preheat oven to 250C. Place pork in a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Place apple, chestnut, shallot, sage and pumpkin around base of pork. Pour in cider. Roast until crackling starts to form (30 mins). Turn down heat to 150C and cook for further 10-15 mins or until just cooked through.

Rest for 5 mins. Slice into thick pieces