Finish off your roast pork dinner with this scrumptious home made Port & Fig sauce
Ingredients
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1.5 kg rack of pork (8 points)
1 large onion, unpeeled, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
1/2 cup port
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup beef stock
1 cinnamon stick
1 sprig rosemary
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
70g Western Star Original Butter, diced
Method
Pound the salt, pepper and fennel in a mortar and pestle into a coarse powder
Pat the surface of the meat dry with paper towel and rub the fennel salt all over the surface. Scatter the onion, carrot and celery in the base of a flameproof baking dish and top with the pork
Bake at 230°C for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180°C and bake for a further 45 minutes or until cooked. Remove pork from pan, cover with foil and stand in a warm place for 20 minutes
Pour juices from pan through a strainer into a jug and stand for 5 minutes before spooning off and discarding fat
Place the baking dish over moderate heat, add the port, wine, stock, cinnamon stick and rosemary and cook, scraping dish to dislodge any cooked on pork remnants from the bottom of the dish
Pour the skimmed cooking juices back into the pan along with any from the resting meat. Strain sauce through a fine sieve into a saucepan, add the figs and simmer gently for 10 minutes to reduce and thicken slightly
Remove cinnamon stick and rosemary if desired. Gradually whisk in the butter, a cube at a time melting between each addition. Keep warm while carving meat
Tips & Hints
Ask your butcher to 'chine' the pork rack, this will allow easy slicing once it's cooked. Stand pork rack at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before cooking, depending on the weather.