Roast pork

A pork joint often comes out for a Sunday lunch or a bigger table. It takes longer than most meat, and the crackling needs its own care.

Pork is cooked all the way through

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) explains that poultry and pork can have bacteria all the way through the meat. This means that these meats need to be cooked all the way through.

The FSA gives three checks for a joint cooked without a thermometer. Cut into the thickest part, and the juices should run clear. Make sure there is no pink, fleshy meat, as this is a sign it is undercooked. The meat should be steaming hot all the way through.

Scoring and drying the skin

Crackling starts with the skin. Score it with a sharp knife in lines close together. Cut through the skin into the fat underneath, and stop before the meat. A butcher can score a joint for you, and some joints are sold ready scored.

Dry the skin well with kitchen paper. Then rub a little oil and some salt over it.

In the oven

A joint's roasting time depends on its weight, so weigh it before it goes in. Love Pork, the pork site run by AHDB, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, publishes oven settings and times by weight.

When the time is up, the FSA's checks above tell you whether the joint is cooked.

Resting

When the joint comes out, leave it to rest for a little while before you carve it.

Leftovers

Cooked meat that is not eaten straight away should be cooled and put in the fridge or freezer within 1 to 2 hours, the FSA says. It asks for cooked meat to be kept apart from raw meat. Eat leftovers within two days, or freeze them.

The FSA asks for food to be reheated only once. Reheated food should be steaming hot throughout, not just warm.

Roasting pork for a carvery or a large table

The FSA's Safer food, better business pack asks caterers to check that pork joints and rolled joints are cooked to a safe temperature in the centre. Their juices should not have any pink or red in them.

In England, a business holding cooked food for service must keep it at 63°C or above where that is needed for safety. The pack allows hot food out of hot holding for display for up to two hours, once only. After that it is reheated until steaming hot, or chilled to 8°C or below. Food left out for more than two hours is thrown away.

A joint that is being kept for later cools faster in smaller pieces. The pack suggests cutting joints in half. In Scotland, a business that reheats cooked food for serving must raise it to at least 82°C. The law allows a lower temperature where 82°C would spoil the food.

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