This recipe was designed specifically to be made with Bakers' Magic gluten free flour. The finished baked product will not be the same if you use another gluten free flour and you will need to adjust the recipe, particularly if the flour you're using contains rice flour. 

 

Ingredients

Pork shoulder - the size will depend on how many you are going to feed

I use the cheap supermarket pre-packed rolled shoulders.

 

 Sauce*

~125 g Gluten free soy sauce

125 g Brown sugar (or honey)

Zest from an orange

Chilli sauce (to taste)

2 Large garlic cloves

1 Star anise (or a bit of Chinese 5 spice powder)

Optional sesame oil

Approximately 250 g Water

 

*The flavour of the sauce will need to be adjusted to suit you and your family's preferences. Taste the sauce before you add in the water and adjust to suit (more soy, more sugar, bit more spice).

 

Batter

100 g Bakers' Magic gluten free flour

100 g Maize starch (cornflour from corn)

1 Egg

1/4 - 1 tsp Baking powder

1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt

200 - 300 g Water

 

Baking powder - Putting in more baking powder will result in a 'fluffier' batter. Less baking powder and the resulting batter is thinner and somewhat crispier. 

Water - The amount of water added will depend on how you like your batter. Add in the 200 g of water to start with, batter one or two pieces of pork, deep fry them and get your family to try them. If the batter is too thick for your liking add in a bit more water.

 

Oil for deep frying

Salt (for pork crackling) 

 

 

Method

Pork Crackling

Turn oven on to 210 C (fan forced). When the oven is up to temperature put in a slightly oiled roasting dish. 

Cut the skin off the pork. Cut off as much fat from underneath the skin. Score the skin with a knife if the score marks are not well defined. 

Put the skin onto a tray and sprinkle a lot of salt on top of it.

Let it sit for 20 mins. 

Wash the salt off the skin. 

Pat the skin dry with paper towel. Ensure you dry it well otherwise it will spit when it is put into the hot roasting dish.

Put the skin into the roasting dish and bake for approximately 30 mins. I usually check it to see if it is crisping up.  

Bring the dish out of the oven & place it on a cooling rack. Remove the crackling from the dish. 

Pour the fat from the dish into a metal bowl. 

Turn the oven down to 150 C.  

Cooking the pork

Mix together the sauce ingredients, excluding the water. Taste the sauce and adjust if necessary. Add the water to the sauce. 

Cut the shoulder into 3 or 4 pieces. 

Place the pieces into the already used roasting dish.

Pour the sauce over the pieces of pork. 

Put the dish into the oven & bake the pork for approximately 2.5 hours. Turn the pieces every ~30 mins.

Bring the dish out of the oven. Transfer pork to a plate to cool.

When the sauce from the pan is cooler pour it through a strainer into a saucepan. Taste the sauce and adjust if necessary. 

Just before serving the crispy pork heat the sauce. If the flavour is okay but the sauce is not 'sticky' enough, thicken it with a little maize starch (first make a paste of the maize starch with water).   

Batter

Use a stab blender to combine the batter ingredients in a bowl.

Cut the cooked pork into chunks (~3 cm cubes). 

Turn on deep fryer or start heating oil in fry pan (if shallow frying).

Put some of the pork pieces into the batter, stir with a spoon to ensure all surfaces are coated. The batter will be slightly gloopy.

Use tongs to transfer approximately 8 pieces of pork to the deep fryer. The actual number will depend on the size of the pieces & the capacity of your deep fryer.

Deep fry the pork for approximately 4 mins (depends on the size).

Use a slotted metal spoon to scoop the pork pieces out of the oil. Transfer the pork to some paper towel. 

Repeat deep frying until all battered pork is cooked.

Heat the sauce.

Transfer pork to a serving plate & pour some of the sauce over (alternatively put the sauce in a small bowl)

Simply enjoy!