Whole Roasted Pork Neck

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather all the ingredients from the list. Choose your meat carefully — low-quality pork will spoil the finished dish. A good neck should be pink with thin white streaks of fat, no off smell, and no excessive sheen. Fresh meat tastes best, but if yours is frozen, thaw it slowly first — leave it in a covered container in the fridge for about 8 hours. Use a refined (neutral) oil.

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse the meat and pat it dry with paper towels so it splatters less when you sear it. Peel and rinse the garlic, then cut it into thin slivers — that makes it easier to lard the meat.

3. Step 3:

   

   Lard the neck with the garlic so the aroma spreads evenly through the meat. If you don't have a larding knife, use a long, sharp blade. Pierce the meat along the grain (so the garlic ends up cut crosswise when you slice the roast) and slide a sliver of garlic deep along the blade. Then tie the meat lengthwise and crosswise with heavy cotton kitchen twine so the piece holds its shape and doesn't fall apart while it cooks.

4. Step 4:

   

   Combine all the dry spices with the salt and 4 tablespoons of the oil. This paste-like marinade spreads the flavor and aroma evenly over the meat. Save the remaining oil for later.

5. Step 5:

   

   Choose a marinating dish large enough to hold the meat comfortably, made of a material that won't react with the spices — enamel, ceramic, or glass is ideal. I used a ceramic braiser. Rub the marinade thoroughly into the meat on all sides.

6. Step 6:

   

   Rinse the onions, slice them into half-moons, and scrunch them lightly with your hands to release some juice. Pack the onion around the meat on all sides. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and let it marinate for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature. You can leave it longer — overnight, for example — but then move it to the fridge. For better flavor, "stir" the meat once or twice during marinating: turn it over and re-pack the onion around it.

7. Step 7:

   

   Brush the onion off the marinated meat and sear it on all sides in an oiled pan over high heat until a browned crust forms — this seals in the juices. Use a large, high-sided skillet so the meat is easy to turn and the oil splatters less. Tongs, or two spatulas pressed against the meat, make turning easy.

8. Step 8:

   

   In the same oil, lightly fry the onion that the meat marinated in. Browned onion gives the roast a deeper flavor. Keep the heat at medium so the onion doesn't scorch and turn bitter.

9. Step 9:

   

   Use a deep baking dish with a lid, large enough that the meat lies flat without bending. I use the same braiser I marinated it in. Set the meat in and cover it with onion on all sides. Add the bay leaves and half a cup of warm water. The water keeps the meat from drying out if the liquid cooks off. Every cut of meat behaves differently — some are very fatty, some lean — so there's no way to predict exactly how it will cook.

10. Step 10:

    

    Cover and bake for 1 1/2 hours in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C). Ovens and bakeware vary, so cooking time may differ. After the first hour, carefully lift the lid and check — the meat should be nicely browned but not burnt. Once it's done, take it out, remove the lid, and let it rest for 30 to 40 minutes without draining off the liquid. Brush the onion off the finished roast and snip away the twine.