Wood-roasted honey, mustard and ginger glazed pork neck

The key to ensuring this pork neck caramelises beautifully is to continue basting it while it cooks. And don't worry if you don't have a wood fired oven on hand - a regular oven will do the trick for both the pork and all the tasty trimmings.

Credit: Andy and Ben Eat Australia, Food Network

• serves

  10

• prep

  50 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 2 kg piece pork neck                                                                                                                      
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 kg Desiree potatoes, peeled and halved
• 2 rosemary stalks
• 1 head garlic
• 2 tbsp melted duck fat
• 500 g beetroots, scrubbed and trimmed
• 2 zucchini
• 6 red creole onion
• 2 tbsp baby capers
• 5 green apples (Granny Smith are best)
• 4-6 sprigs of thyme
• 100 g butter
• 60 ml (¼ cup) honey
• 40 g (¼ cup) Brazil nuts
• ½ bunch parsley, leaves picked
• ½ bunch basil, leaves picked

Glaze

• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1½ tbsp fish sauce
• 2 cm piece ginger, peeled and cut into julienne
• Juice of ½ lemon

Dressing

• 100 ml olive oil
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp diced preserved lemon

Instructions

I like to cook everything in a wood fired oven. If you don’t have access to one, preheat a fan-forced oven to 220˚C.

For the glaze, place all the ingredients in a small bowl. Season to taste and stir to combine.

Season the pork with salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place in an oven dish and cook for 45 minutes, turning halfway to ensure you get the caramelisation on both sides. Once the pork is nearly cooked, baste it all over with the glaze and cook until sticky and just cooked through. Remove the pork from the oven and rest for 15 minutes.

While the pork is cooking, place the potatoes in a baking dish. Add the rosemary, garlic bulb and duck fat. Season and toss to combine well. Roast in the oven with the pork for 30 minutes or until golden and crisp, turning halfway through cooking.

Cut the beetroot and the zucchini into even chunks. Place in a baking dish with the red onion, drizzle with olive oil and season to taste. Toss to combine well and roast for 30 minutes or until tender, turning halfway through cooking. When tender, remove from the oven and toss the capers through the veg and let them warm through in the baking dish.

Slice the apples in half, then slice a thin base off the apples so when placed down, they’ll sit flat. Place in a baking tray, then sprinkle with thyme and place a knob of butter over each apple half. Drizzle with honey and roast for 30 minutes or until golden and tender.

To make the dressing, place all the ingredients in a jar, seal and shake well.

Place the beetroots and zucchini in a bowl. Add the Brazil nuts, parsley and basil. Pour over the dressing, then gently toss through. Place the roast potatoes and apples in separate dishes. Place the pork on a platter and carve at the table. Serve with all the trimmings.

Cook's tips: 

Red creole onions are flat, round, red onions but if unavailable, can easily be substituted with small halved red onions.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.