Pot-roast pork (Enchaud périgourdin)

I bought a couple of jars of Enchaud périgourdin in Périgueux market. It’s Pot-roast pork loin that is studded with garlic and pot-roasted with a small amount of stock and pig’s trotters, then left to go cold before being bottled. It’s designed to be thinly sliced and served with other cold meats, pâtés and pickles. I decided to create a version in which I stud the pork with plenty of garlic in the same way, wrap it in the skin to keep in the moisture and pot-roast it with lots of root vegetables for a deep winter flavour.

Ingredients

For the pepper spice mix

• 1 chipotle chilli, seeds removed
• 1 pasilla chilli, seeds removed
• 2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp white peppercorns
• 2 tsp Szechuan peppercorns
• 1 tbsp salt

For the pork

• 1kg/2lb 4oz pork loin, bone in, skin removed but reserved, with 1cm/½in fat left on meat
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 50g/1¾oz salted butter
• 300g/10½oz swede, peeled and cut into 3cm/1¼in chunks
• 300g/10½oz carrot, peeled and cut into 3cm/1¼in chunks
• 300g/10½oz onion, cut into 3cm/1¼in pieces
• 500ml/18fl oz beef or chicken stock (see tip)
• few fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ tsp pepper spice mix (see above)
• salt

Method

1. For the pepper spice mix, place all of the ingredients in a spice grinder and blitz.

2. Cut evenly spaced holes in the meat with the tip of a small knife and insert a garlic sliver into each one. Lay the pork on the reserved skin, roll up and tie with butchers’ string to hold it in place – the skin will keep the meat moist. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Melt the butter in a flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat, add the pork and brown well on all sides. Remove the pork and add the swede, carrot and onion. Fry the vegetables until lightly browned. Put the pork back in the dish on top of the vegetables.

4. Pour the stock over the pork and add the thyme and bay leaves. Season with the pepper spice mix and some salt. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook in the oven or on the hob on a low heat for 1¼ hours. Make sure that the pork is cooked by putting a skewer into the centre of the meat and checking the juices are clear with no traces of pink. You can also check with a meat thermometer if you have one; the internal temperature of the meat should be 70C.

5. Transfer the meat from the dish to a board and remove the string and skin.

6. Cover the meat with foil to keep it warm and set aside. Preheat the grill to medium and put the grill pan on the lowest rung. Sprinkle the skin with salt and grill until crisp.

7. Transfer the vegetables to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and keep them warm. Spoon off any excess fat from the juices in the dish and reduce to thicken slightly. Pass the juices through a sieve and pour them into a warm jug. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

8. Remove the bone from the pork and carve the meat into thin slices and serve with the vegetables, crispy skin and juices.

Pot-roast pork (Enchaud périgourdin)