Danish Christmas: Claus Meyer's roast pork

We have long, dark winters so we have a tradition of curing and pickling. The traditional Danish Christmas dinner sees the sweet and sour aspect of the way we eat come into full swing; it's all about offsetting the fattiness of the meat with something sour and tart. The most important part of this pork dish is the crackling. The sandwich is a more refined version of something you can find on almost every hotdog stand across the country – it's the most perfect, satisfying thing to eat when you're out and a little drunk – but is such a good way of using up the best bits from the Christmas meal. We eat our main meal on Christmas Eve, and spend the next two days grazing. Roast pork with crackling and gravy pork neck on the bone with skin intact 800g coarse salt bay leaves 10-15 water 6-7 cups flour 2 tbsp æblegastrik (apple syrup) 1-2 tbsp sea salt and freshly ground pepper Score the pork skin all over at 5mm intervals right down to the meat. With a damp hand, rub in plenty of coarse salt and stick the bay leaves into the cuts. Place the roast, skin-side up, on an oven rack over a deep roasting tray with 6-7 cups of water. Roast the pork in a preheated oven at 180C/gas mark 4 for 65-70 minutes. Halfway through the cooking, pour the liquid from the roasting tray into a saucepan and reserve for gravy – there should be around 600-700ml. Let the saucepan stand for a moment then skim most of the fat from the liquid. Bring to the boil, and reduce to approximately 400-500ml. Turn off the heat and leave to stand. Sprinkle with flour allowing the fat to absorb it, then whisk thoroughly and bring to the boil. Simmer the gravy for 6-7 minutes. Add the æblegastrik and season to taste. If needed, pour the gravy through a sieve to remove any lumps before serving. Measure the roast's core temperature with a meat thermometer before taking it out of the oven – at 65C it will be slightly pink and juicy (cooking to a higher temperature will give a dryer roast). Let the roast rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. Serve roast pork with boiled potatoes, red cabbage and the gravy. Roast pork sandwich Nice for Boxing Day lunch but can also easily become a supper meal. MAKES 4 SANDWICHES Greek yoghurt 2% 2 tbsp mayonnaise 2 tbsp mustard 1 tbsp apple vinegar 1 tsp acacia honey 1 tsp sea salt and freshly ground pepper eating apples 2 pickled cornichon gherkins a few small portion of red cabbage 1 roast pork with crackling 800g good sandwich buns 4 Mix yoghurt, mayonnaise and mustard as a dressing and add vinegar, honey, salt and pepper to taste. Cut the apples into quarters, remove cores and cut apples into thin slices. Slice gherkins. Warm the red cabbage in a small saucepan. If required, also warm the roast pork in a 170C/gas mark 3 oven for 10-15 minutes. (Do this before slicing.) Halve the rolls, and warm them lightly in the oven. Remove from oven and spread the dressing on both top and bottom. Cut the roast pork into 8 slices and place two on the bottom half of the buns, sprinkle with a little salt, top with thin slices of fresh apple, warm red cabbage and sliced gherkin. Place the other bun half on top, and serve.