Imperial swine.
“This heroic dish is,” Victor Gordon maintains in The English Cookbook, “suitably inappropriate for the tropical climes of colonial man and altogether comforting in lands where winter can begin in August and end in July.” He has a point, but this impressive roast would be welcome on all but the more sweltering days of Spring and Fall as well. It is a lot easier to prepare than the long list of ingredients may indicate. Six hearty servings.
For the stuffed roast:
- 2 oz chopped bacon
- 3-4 oz chopped liver (see the Notes)
- ½ lb pork sausage meat
- 4 prunes “(previously soaked in tea)”
- juice of an orange
- 1 teaspoon crushed coriander seed
- salt and pepper
- a beaten egg
a 4 lb boned pork roast prepared for stuffing (shoulder or leg)- salt
- neutral oil
- cider vinegar for basting
For its sauce:
- 2 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped apples
- scant 2 oz brown sugar
- 2 slices decrusted brown (whole wheat) bread
- about a cup of water
- 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
- cayenne
- about 3 oz Stilton
- 6 Tablespoons Port
- gravy browning (preferably Kitchen Bouquet)
Preheat the oven to 350˚.
- Make the stuffing by combining all the ingredients that appear before the pork roast, the stuff and tie it.
- Salt the roast, smear it with oil and cook it for about 20 minutes per pound or to your preference, basting it “from time to rime” with its juices and cider vinegar.
- Make the sauce by simmering the apple, sugar and bread in the water with the vinegar and cayenne.
- “When cooked down to a jammy consistency, the sauce is augmented by crumbled Stilton and port wine. 10 minute’s simmering will dissolve the cheese. Darken the sauce tactfully with gravy browning.”
- Stir the roasting juices into the sauce and thin it with a little stock if needed.
- Allow the roast to rest at least 10 minutes before service.
Notes:
-Gordon specifies pork liver, but it can be difficult to find except in ethnic markets in the United States. It is the ideal choice but suitable substitutes include chicken or pork liver.
-A sour orange is good and a blood orange even better.
-The style of Port is up to you. We use ruby but tawny is a little drier and not as bright.