Slow-roast pork rolls with apple chilli chutney

• pork shoulder

  joint, scored and tied (we used a tied carvery joint from Waitrose, bone in one end and rolled and tied at other end)

• thyme leaves↗2 tsp tsp
• fennel seed1 tsp tsp
• olive oil↗1 tbsp tbsp
• buttered soft bread rolls

  to serve

• olive oil↗1 tbsp tbsp
• onions↗2

  finely chopped

• red chillies

  deseeded and finely chopped

• eating apples4

  peeled, cored and cut into small chunks

• cider vinegar↗4 tbsp tbsp
• caster sugar↗4 tbsp tbsp
• thyme↗1

  sprig, leaves picked

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9. Sit the pork in a large roasting tin. If the skin isn’t already scored for you, score it with a small, sharp knife. Mix together the thyme, fennel seeds, oil and 1 tsp salt with a good grinding of black pepper. Rub this over the top and ends of the pork. Roast for 30 mins, then cover the whole tin with a large sheet of foil, reduce the oven temperature to 140C/120C fan/gas 1 and return the pork to the oven for a further 5 hrs.

2. 2

   While the pork is cooking, make the chutney. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Soften the onion and chilli together for 10-15 mins. Once soft, stir in the apple chunks, vinegar and sugar with 50ml water. Cover and cook over a low heat for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally, until the apple is very soft. Blitz half the apple mixture with a hand blender, or scoop half into a food processor and whizz until smooth, before stirring back into the pan with the leaves from the thyme sprig.

3. 3

   Take the pork from the oven – the meat should be very tender – and increase the temperature to 240C/220C fan/gas 9. When the oven has reached temperature, discard the foil and put the pork back in for 30 mins to crisp up the skin a little. For really crisp crackling, remove the skin from the meat, wrap the meat in foil to keep warm, and return only the skin to the oven for 30 mins. Use a couple of forks to shred the pork from the joint. Sandwich in soft buttered rolls with apple chilli chutney, warm or at room temperature. Serve with pieces of crisp crackling on the side.