Honey-Glazed Christmas Pork Shoulder

📝 Ingredients

• 1 bone-in smoked pork shoulder (about 1.5 kg)
• 1 brown onion + 2 bay leaves (for poaching)
• 16 cloves (4 for the onion, 12 for the pork)
• 3 tbsp honey (60 g)
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 unwaxed orange (zest and juice)
• 8 carrots (about 1 kg)
• 1.2 kg potatoes (6 medium, about 200 g each)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large stockpot
• Small saucepan
• Large baking tray
• Ovenproof dish
• Pastry brush
• Cutting board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Put the pork shoulder in a large stockpot, cover generously with cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat. Boil for 5 min, then discard the water: this first blanching removes excess salt from the smoked meat.
2. Return the pork to the rinsed stockpot with the peeled onion studded with 4 cloves and the bay leaves, then cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 1 h 30 min over a low heat: at a rolling boil, the meat would toughen.
3. About 40 min before the end of poaching, preheat the oven to 200 °C. Peel the carrots and potatoes, halve the carrots lengthways and cut the potatoes into quarters, then toss them on the large oven tray with the oil, thyme, salt and pepper.
4. Put the vegetables in the oven, spread out in a single layer, 20 min before the end of poaching: they will roast for 45 min in total and finish cooking while the pork is glazing. Stir halfway through so they brown on all sides.
5. Make the glaze in a small saucepan: mix the honey, mustard and the orange zest and juice. Simmer gently for 3 to 4 min over a low heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon like a syrup.
6. Drain the pork and leave it to cool slightly for 5 min. Remove the rind and most of the fat with a knife, leaving just a thin layer, then score the surface in a shallow diamond pattern. Stud 12 cloves where the lines cross.
7. Place the pork in an ovenproof dish, brush generously with the glaze and put it in the oven on a rack above the vegetables for 25 min, basting with glaze and juices every 8 min, until glossy and caramelised.
8. Leave the pork to rest for 10 min under a sheet of foil so it stays juicy, remove the cloves, then slice thinly, cutting around the bone. Serve with the roast carrots and potatoes, drizzled with the caramelised juices from the dish.