Roast Pork Leg with Madeira Onion Sauce
The quantities given are enough for 6 portions. The leftover meat keeps in the fridge and is delicious the next day too, cold for sandwiches or chopped small in a salad. Source: kulinarno-joana.com.
Ingredients
| 1.2 kg | pork leg meat | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | chopped fresh rosemary |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | chopped fresh thyme |
| 1 clove | garlic, finely chopped | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | liquid herbal honey |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | pomegranate molasses |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Dijon mustard |
| 2 tsp | 10 ml | ground sea salt (if using table salt, reduce to 1 tsp) |
| 0.25 tsp | 1.3 ml | freshly ground black pepper |
| 5 heads | onions, cut into thicker half-moons | |
| 100 ml | Madeira | |
| 200 ml | boiling water | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | cornflour, dissolved in a little cold water |
| 50 g | cold butter | |
| — | oil, for greasing the tin |
Instructions
- Take the meat out of the fridge 20-30 minutes ahead so it warms to room temperature. Heat the oven to 220ºC. Prepare a roasting tin and grease its base with a little oil.
- Cut the onions into thicker half-moons and place them in the middle of the tin, in a single row.
- In a bowl combine the rosemary, thyme, garlic, honey, pomegranate molasses, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Tie the meat with cotton thread or twine to give it a firm shape that will hold during roasting. It is important to tie it so that the meat is later sliced across the muscle fibres. Rub it all over with the mixed spices. Place it in the tin on top of the onions.
- Put it in the preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes. Then reduce the oven to 180ºC and continue roasting for another hour, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 62ºC.
- Take the tin out of the oven, cover the meat with aluminium foil and leave it for 8-10 minutes. Then move the meat to a warmed plate, again covered with foil, and keep it warm while the sauce is made.
- For the Madeira onion sauce: after the meat is removed, place the tin over two burners (or transfer everything into a saucepan) and heat over high heat until the juices boil. Add the Madeira and scrape the base of the tin with a wooden spatula. Stir and let it boil 2-3 minutes.
- Add 200 ml boiling water and let it boil again. Pour in the cornflour dissolved in a little cold water, stir well and cook 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the 50 g cold butter, stirring until melted.
- At this stage the sauce can be strained and the onion served separately, or everything can be blended in a food processor and passed through a sieve, discarding the onion pulp left in the sieve. Reheat the sauce before serving if needed.
- Slice the meat thinly, cutting across the muscle fibres. Serve with the sauce and a suitable side dish.