Jamie Oliver's Perfect Pork Loin with Crackling #FoodieExtravaganza

Ah this was a long wait. I made this for Christmas 2014 and its taken 10 months to write this post. I remembered the cook took a fairly long time too as I started late in the morning after church and a hearty breakfast after our fully vegetarian pre-Christmas lent of 24 days. Also I had a couple of eggnog breaks as well in between ;). Still remember how mum was kinda' scolding me over the phone for having started the cook late. Izzy and Anup were happy campers though as they had a ball of a time and over this meal as well. Well it sure was worth the wait! Thanks Jamie for making our Christmas 2014 a special one. He was practically there for the cook as I had to follow his online video to make this one. So yes this recipe is all him!

Mum has a large part to play in my courage to make dishes so hearty and large as these. Don't get me wrong it is not a difficult dish at all to plate up. Just that I wouldn't have the nerve had I not seen her make such large and wonderful festive meals. Love you Mum! You will always be at my side while I cook/bake.

I decided to post this recipe to honour Foodie Extravaganza{Party}'s October event 'Pork'. This is the first event I have joined of Foodie Extravaganza. The first 'Wednesday' of every month, Foodie Extravaganza {Party} hosts a theme based cook-off where food bloggers come together to celebrate the food event of the month from the American National Food Holidays. October's Foodie Extravaganza Pork Party was hosted by the lovely Lauren Mitchell of the blog 'From Gate to Plate'. 

Jamie is right, this is the most perfect pork recipe and is full of flavour as he promised! I did do a twist on his recipe of 'Oozy Beans and Agretti' side that accompanied this pork. That recipe I will share soon enough (hopefully not 10 months from now ;) )!

I have altered the recipe quantities based on the weight of the pork loin that I got from my butcher. Yes and I did get the fat separated from the meat of the loin at the butcher's place. If you do not have that luxury, then do follow Jamie's video here where he displays quite simply how to do the slice off.

You need:

• 2 kgs pork loin, fat separated
• 2-3 sprigs each of rosemary and thyme, chopped
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Drizzle of EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil)
• Half a bottle of balsamic vinegar (about 250 ml)
• 10-12 cloves of garlic with skin on, smashed

The Make
Serves 12-15 people | Roasting Time: 60-70 minutes | Preparation and Resting Time: 15-20 minutes

Source: Jamie Oliver

1. First score the white side of the fat strip of the loin meat. I did a criss-cross scoring.
2. Rub the skin and meat with the chopped rosemary and thyme leaves along with salt and pepper all around.
3. Use a little EVOO to ensure that the leaves stick to the meat and fat all around.
4. Score the crackling skin with a sharp cooking blade or if you have a sharp pointy kitchen knife you could use the same. Use the tip to form the scores.
5. Put the skin fat side down first on a medium heated non-stick pan and hold for a minute until lightly browned.
6. Using tongs, take out the skin out carefully, and next place the skin side down of the pork meat and lightly brown for a minute . Then turn it over and caramelise the other side as well for about 2 minutes on medium-low heat.
7. Drizzle half a bottle of balsamic vinegar over the caramelising pork meat. Turn it over to coat the meat and then transfer it to a oven-friendly tray and pour all the balsamic vinegar over the top of the pork.
8. Place the garlic cloves into the tray all around.
9. Move the tray to an oven of 180°C . If you have a dual heating oven (top and bottom), you can place the skin on a grill sliding tray on top of the pork tray so all the juices would drip on top of the pork meat keeping it moist all through the cook. If not, you can do what I did and grill the skin separately in another compartment with a spill tray to hold the juices and intermittently using a ladle pour over the cooking pork in the pork tray. This would help create an amazing, simple gravy.
10. Roast over 60-70 minutes, intermittently turning the meat and the skin.
11. Take off the heat Rest the pork in the pork tray with all the juices for 10 minutes. Then take out the pork with a tong or a large fork and place on your serving tray.
12. Pour out the juices from the tray into a jug. You can then see the fat separated atop the jug. You can then take a ladle and scoop up the fat (even if a little gravy comes with it, that's ok) into a storing jar and refrigerate which can be used as a flavoursome stock later on.
13. Sieve out the juices from the jug, making sure to squeeze the garlic cloves to ensure its flavour comes through. This forms your gravy.
14. Serve your pork meat as a whole  or sliced with cracking strips at the side (the earlier scores will help you cut it through) and with some of Jamie's Oozy beans with Agretti  or my take of Jamie's recipe of beans (recipe to follow later). Pour over some of that amazing gravy.

And as Jamie said you are sure to hear of this make for years to come!

Bon Appetit!

Some delicious recipes from our fabulous Foodie Extravaganza members:

• BBQ Pulled Pork with Mac and Cheese Flatbread by From Gate to Plate 
• Chili Verde Pork Posole by Culinary Adventures with Camilla 
• Freezer-friendly Spicy Pork Burrito by Brunch with Joy 
• Healthy Sausage and Rice by Fearlessly Creative Mammas 
• Italian Sausage No Crust Quiche by Cookin' and Craftin' 
• Jamie Olivier's Pork Roast with Crackling by G'Gina's Kitchenette 
• Mojo Shredded Pork with Black Beans and Rice by Our Good Life 
• Parmesan Spinach Stuffed Pork Loin by Cooking with Carlee 
• Pork and Apple Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Pork Chops with Spiced Apples by Sew You Think You Can Cook 
• Pork Meatball Mini Subs by The Freshman Cook 
• Pork Schnitzel by Making Miracles 
• Spicy Sticky Pork Ribs by Food Lust People Love 
• Sweet and Sour Pork by Tara's Multicultural Table 
• Thai Basil Meatballs with Peanut-Basil Sauce Two Ways by Caroline's Cooking 



Posting day is always the first Wednesday of the month. If you are a blogger and you're interested in joining in the fun, visit us at our Facebook Foodie Extravaganza page. You can also visit our past party submissions on our Pinterest Foodie Extravaganza board .


Thanks for joining us this month and hope you come back to see what we're celebrating next month! ;)

Two Cheese Panini with Italian Pork Salami

This appetiser was inspired from our recent trip to Roma. Of course we tried different kinds of Panini all over the place and most of them were sold at food carts in front of or within historical places or tourist areas.

My Panini breakfast

I have been trying to get a hold of Ciabatta bread when I learnt from one of our new acquaintances in Italy that the bread needs to be firm and thick on both slices so as to hold all the layers within. I have had the George Foreman's Lean Mean Grilling Machine for a while now and bought it from one of the stores in Dubai, UAE. This is a neat device and helped me to grill the pork and the bell peppers before adding it to the Panini bread. It also was close to what a Panini maker looks like and achieved so I was thrilled to try it out to make my first ever Panini.

George Foreman's Lean Mean Grilling Machine

I looked all over town and found a neat loaf of multigrain bread from Vac's Hyderabad last afternoon. It was perfect for the Panini.

Multigrain bread from Vac's

Now of course there are tons of various options whilst making Panini but the first thing you need to get right is the bread. You cannot use ordinary bread. You have to get the texture, thickness and firmness of the bread right. It cannot crumble. Also if you are buying or making a loaf you need to ensure that you cut it right. Both halves have to be strong to withstand the 'press' of the Panini maker and should not spill out or break free from the bread.


You can use various types of cheeses Parmesan - Reggiano, Gruyere, Mozzarela, Provolone, Asiago, etc. I used the Gruyere and Parmesean. Gruyere has a hardened texture almost woody at the edges so I removed the edges and shredded the cheese. You can also add a combination of Parmesan, Mozzarela, Provolone, Asiago and mix them in a bowl before using it on the bread. You can also do this with other cheeses but hey I am no cheese expert, just learnt a few on my trip. There are also several varieties of leaves to use basil, flat leaf parsley, Arugula (superb choice), etc. Pimento is also an excellent choice but I did not have it here in India. The closest I would get here is Pitted olives with Pimento stuffing and you could shred or diced the olives finely and use it with the pimento stuffing (make sure to drain for bottled versions). In terms of meats there is a wide variety of ham, bacon, salami, sausages, chicken breast, etc. For the vegetarians, zucchini, mushrooms, egg plants. Dressings can vary from a simple olive oil to Tomato Puree, mayonnaise, ketchup, pesto sauce, salad dressing,etc.

This was what I used for our Panini breakfast this morning.

You need:

Panini Maker / Griddle with a heavy pan to press down / George Foreman's Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine 

4 slices of Ciabatta bread or Multigrain bread loaf (ensure that the loaf is thick and when cut evenly has the same surface area on both sides), cut in half to make 2 Paninis and then cut equally in half. In case the bottom half has a less wider surface area from the top then ensure that it is cut as the thicker half so as to support the filling

Panini Loaf

First cut in half

Second cut one half in two equal halves

Once the Second cut was incorporated, with EVOO brushed on

• Olive oil - to brush on the bread halves
• Green pitted olives with pimento stuffing - 4-6 for each Panini
• Gruyere Cheese - Shredded - take quantity to your liking
• Parmesan - Reggiano - take quantity to your liking
• Homemade Tomato Puree or store bought - 1 tbsp each for each Panini or Tomatoes finely sliced, half each for each Panini
• Bell Peppers - half each for each Panini, finely diced and grilled on the grill machine
• Pork Salami, sliced - added about 4 slices for each Panini

The Pork Salami waiting to be cut

• Arugula leaves-3-4 for each Panini or fresh flat Spinach leaves - sauteed in olive oil  or slightly boiled
• Basil leaves  1 tbsp each for each Panini

The make:

Cooking Time: 15 minutes| Preparation Time: 10 minutes|Serves 2 adults

• Brush a little EVOO on both sides of the grill before use. Grill the pork slices on the grill machine for about 5 minutes. The best part of this grill is that you do not need to turn over. It cooks both sides at once. Do not crowd the grill.
• Once the bread is cut, brush the bread halves with a little EVOO (mixed with some of the grains left in the bag from the bread as shown in the picture above)
• Next add some of the Parmesan cheese on one of the halves. Top with Arugula or Spinach leaves. Add the grilled pork slices and add some of the shredded Gruyere.
• Top with the basil leaves. Add the bell peppers and top with some of of the shredded Gruyere and Parmesan
• Cover with the second slice of the bread
• Place carefully on the grill without spilling and close and press down

Press down the prepared bread

• Let it go for about 5 minutes and then using a wide spatula take it out onto a serving plate and serve with a side salad or your favourite side dish (choices could be baked fries, green salad, chick peas, etc)

My first Panini

My first Panini served up

Panini anyone?

Tip: To get this criss-crossed look on top of the bread make sure that when you place the bread the first time, it is slightly titled and then half way through tilt it again.

For those of you who do not have a grill or a Panini Maker, please click here to learn more how to make these delicious Paninis or check the How-To or Tips@ The Kitchen tab on my home page for another alternative. You have umpteen number of choices for fillings. I have only listed a few. Again I have listed this appetizer as a snack or breakfast but you can also have it for lunch or dinner and with a nice little side dish what more of a delicious wholesome meal could one ask for?

Hope you enjoy! Bon Appetit..