3 kg boneless skin on pork shoulder, NOT scored , unrolled / netting removed

3 tsp cooking / kosher salt (NOT salt flakes or table salt)

1 1/4 tsp black pepper

2 tsp fennel seeds (or other herb/spice of choice)

1 tbsp + 1 tsp olive oil

1 garlic bulb , halved horizontally

2 onions , halved (brown, white, red)

2 cups dry white wine, or alcoholic or non-alcoholic cider

Pat the skin dry with paper towels. If time permits, leave in the fridge uncovered overnight (even 1 hr helps). If not, pat extra well.

Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan).

Sprinkle pork flesh with 1 1/2 tsp salt, all the pepper and all fennel seeds and 1 tbsp olive oil. Rub into flesh, right into all the crevices and cracks.

Flip pork, drizzle skin with 1 tsp oil, then rub all over with fingers. Sprinkle all over with remaining 1 1/2 tsp salt, taking care to get even coverage. Un-salted patches will not become bubbly crackling, it will be a hard flat sheet.

Place halved garlic bulbs and onion in roasting pan. Place pork skin side up on top of them.

Carefully pour wine into the pan, being sure not to wet the skin. Transfer to oven.

Immediately turn oven down to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan).

Slow Roast for 2 1/2 hours.

Check pork after 1 1/2 hours to see if the pork is warped and the skin’s overall surface is significantly unlevelled. If so, adjust to make the skin surface as level as possible using balls of foil and moving large dislodged pork pieces to the side (key tip for crispy crackling). Then return to oven for the remaining 1 hour.

If pan is drying out, add some water. If there are bald patches on the skin without salt (eg it fell off), spray lightly with oil spray (or brush lightly with oil) then sprinkle with salt. (Remember, salt = bubbly skin!)

Turn oven up to 250°C/485°F (all oven types), or as high as it will go if your oven won’t go this high.

Return pork to oven for 30 minutes, rotating pan as needed, until skin is crisp and bubbly all over. If needed, use foil patches, secured with water soaked toothpicks, to cover parts that are done and keep crisping up remaining patches.

Transfer pork to serving platter, tent loosely with foil (don’t worry, crackling stays super-crisp) and rest for 20 minutes (stays warm up to 1 hour). Then slice using a serrated knife.