Babi Guling - Balinese Roast Pork

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Recipe's preparation

Prepare pork

The night before cooking, cut off strings and flatten pork shoulder out on a tray, dry it with a paper towel and put in the fridge uncovered. This helps to dry the skin out to get nice crispy crackling. Minumum time I would leave in the fridge uncovered is 3 hours if you want a good crackling.

Blend Spice Paste

1. Put all spice paste ingredients in the bowl and blend 30 seconds, speed 9, scrape down and blend another 30 seconds speed 9. It should be a nice smooth paste (if not keep blending until it is)
2. This quantity of paste makes enough for 2 roasts so you can put half in the freezer for later use.

Marinate Pork

1. Keep the pork skin dry at all times. Lay some paper towel down on the bench and then place the pork, skin side down on the paper towel.
2. Make some long deep cuts in the flesh vertically across the shoulder, but don't cut right through to the skin.
3. Rub paste all over the pork flesh and right down into the cuts you made and spead it all over the skin.
4. Use metal skewers to hold the pork roast together and keep the paste inside
5. Carefully turn pork back over on to tray skin side up
6. Rub 1 tbps turmeric and 1tbsp salt into pork skin
7. Leave to marinate for a few hours in the fridge (it can be cooked straight away if you like)

Cook the roast

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees celcius
2. Place pork shoulder in oven for 30 minutes on 220 then reduce oven to 160.
3. Cook for 2.5 hours on 160. Put a tray of water onto bottom shelf of oven to keep the pork nice and moist.
4. Turn the oven up to 220 on fan grill and place the shoulder on the bottom tray of the oven. This will make the skin puff up and go crispy. (will take about 5 minutes keep an eye on it)
5. Take the pork out of the oven and cover loosely with foil. Leave it to rest for 30 minutes.
6. Slice it up into bite sized pieces and then pour the pan juices over the pork.
7. Serve with rice, asian veggies, cauliflower mash, garlic beans - whatever you like really!