Paleo Dinner Recipes:
Crispy Slow-Roasted Pork Leg
PREP/COOK TIME: 4 hours 15 minutes
A whole pork leg, or fresh ham, makes a gorgeous centerpiece. Not only will this recipe yield enough meat for about 10 people, but you will also have leftovers which can be enjoyed as part of a salad the next day. The meat is also wonderful for making lettuce-wraps. Just wrap the leftover pork in lettuce leaves, add some paleo-friendly sauce and you have a delicious lunch.
We are seasoning the pork with coriander, salt, pepper and bay leaves, and roasting it on a bed of chopped onions. You can add some garlic to the onions too if you want, but pork leg boasts so much wonderful meaty flavor you will find you don’t need to add much to it at all to get an incredible result from this recipe.
Count on about 4 hours cooking time, or more if your roast is heavier than 15 pounds. As soon as it’s 145 degrees F in the center, it’s ready to come out of the oven. You can also use a much smaller leg of pork if you aren’t feeding a crowd – just reduce the cooking time.
Ingredients:
15 lbs whole bone-in pork leg
2 roughly chopped large yellow onions
1 tablespoon white peppercorns
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons sea salt
6 bay leaves
Cooking oil, as needed
Fresh herbs, for garnish (optional)
Method:
First you need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Score the pork skin with a sharp knife to make a zigzag pattern. Put the onions in a shallow roasting pan and put the pork leg on top.
Grind the peppercorns, coriander seeds and sea salt until fine, using a pestle and mortar, then add the bay leaves and grind some more. Add enough oil to form a loose paste. Now go ahead and rub this mixture into the meat.
Roast for 15 minutes per pound, so for about 4 hours, or until the internal temperature is 145 degrees F. Take the pork out of the oven, cover it with foil and let it sit for 15 minutes. You can serve the roast garnished with fresh herbs if liked. Basil, rosemary or thyme would all work.
- 15 lbs whole bone-in pork leg
- 2 roughly chopped large yellow onions
- 1 tablespoon white peppercorns
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 6 bay leaves
- Cooking oil, as needed
- Fresh herbs, for garnish (optional)
- First you need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Score the pork skin with a sharp knife to make a zigzag pattern. Put the onions in a shallow roasting pan and put the pork leg on top.
- Grind the peppercorns, coriander seeds and sea salt until fine, using a pestle and mortar, then add the bay leaves and grind some more. Add enough oil to form a loose paste. Now go ahead and rub this mixture into the meat.
- Roast for 15 minutes per pound, so for about 4 hours, or until the internal temperature is 145 degrees F. Take the pork out of the oven, cover it with foil and let it sit for 15 minutes. You can serve the roast garnished with fresh herbs if liked. Basil, rosemary or thyme would all work.
