This is a super-slow, all day and night, way of achieving crispy-skinned pork cooked, appropriately, in Hog’s Back beer.

It goes very well with spicy aubergine.

In fact, 3½ kg is very generous for eight people, but you really want lots of leftovers. It’s excellent as a lunch the following day with more cold spicy aubergine and aioli.

Recipe for Hog’s Back, Crispy-skinned, All Day And Night, Pork

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 3½ kg/8 lbs pork shoulder on the bone and with the skin still on
• 3 tbsp fennel seeds, dry fried
• 1 head of garlic, all cloves crushed with 3 tbsp smoked salt
• 3 tbsp smoked salt
• 120 ml/½ cup olive oil
• 1 teasp cayenne pepper
• 12 grinds of Indonesian long black pepper
• 180 ml good quality, dark maple syrup
• 1 bottle Hogs Back – Gardeners’ Tipple
• 2 teasp balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C – use Aga top right.
2. Score the skin with a sharp knife a couple of centimeters (half an inch) apart.
3. Crush the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar.
4. Add the crushed garlic.
5. Slowly whisk in (cappuccino whisk is good for this) the oil and the two peppers – this paste can be made well ahead.
6. Divide the paste one third/two thirds.
7. Smear a third of the paste over the side of the joint without the skin, put it skin-side down in the roasting. tin and roast for half an hour.
8. Add the maple syrup and the vinegar to the rest of the paste.
9. Turn the shoulder over using a pair of lifting forks.
10. When it’s cool, push the remaining paste into the slits you’ve made into the skin.
11. The either turn the oven down to 100°C or use the bottom left, warming oven of the Aga.
12. Pour about half the beer into the roasting tin.
13. Cook the meat for about 24 hours – if it starts to look dry add more beer.
14. About ten minutes or so before serving take the meat out, remove the skin, and leave to rest.
15. Put the skin under the grill to crisp up.