Shame about the crackling

THE ROAST loin of pork we have for dinner this evening is excellent; it’s just a shame about the crackling.

It goes all peculiar on us – soggy, flavourless and really disappointing.

My Good Lady and I are great fans of crackling, it’s the best part of the pork in our view.

We can even reminisce about great crackling we’ve enjoyed in the past – like the wonderful stuff we had at an eco-lodge we stayed at in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. So good was it, MGL lost a filling in her tooth in the eating of it and its replacement cost us £100. But we still reckon it was worth it.

So what’s gone wrong with today’s?

MGL blames the recipe, and the additional margarine she was instructed to coat the joint with. “Too much excess fat,” she decides.

(Actually, the recipe calls for butter to be rubbed onto the pork, but she thought soft tub margarine would be easier to spread.)

Anyhow, we feel a little cheated, although the meat itself was very tasty along with the roast potatoes and the carrots. The roasted apples would have been better as plain apple sauce, but that’s a minor quibble.

What’s more I’m looking forward to the next few weeks. Friends will tell you how much I appreciate a weekend roast and to come, in short order, are roast goose, roast turkey (on Christmas Day) and roast belly pork for the New Year. All washed down with copious amounts of good red wine.

Oh yes, my cup runneth over indeed!