Pork Roast with Gravy — Juicy, with Core Temperature Instead of Guesswork
Sear 1.2 kg pork neck all over, set on onions and carrots in a roasting pan, add stock and cook at 160 °C for about 90 minutes until the core reaches 68 °C. Rest 15 minutes. The gravy comes from the pan juices and vegetables — strain, reduce, thicken.
A pork roast is the Sunday dinner with the best ratio of effort to impression: 15 minutes of work, then the oven does the rest. Only one thing makes it dry — too long in the oven. A 10-franc meat thermometer solves that for good. And pork neck instead of loin, because the fat keeps it juicy.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg Pork neck (in one piece, tied)
- 2 tbsp Clarified butter
- 2 pieces Onions
- 2 pieces Carrots
- 2 pieces Garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp Tomato purée
- 2 dl White wine
- 3 dl Stock
- 2 pieces Bay leaves
- 1 tsp Caraway seeds
- 1 tbsp Mustard
- 1½ tsp Salt
- Pepper
- 1 tbsp Cornflour
- 1 dl Double cream (optional)
Method
- 1
Season and sear
Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Pat the meat dry, rub with mustard, season with salt, pepper and caraway. Heat the clarified butter in a roasting pan until very hot and brown the joint all over for 8 to 10 minutes.
- 2
Vegetables
Remove the joint. Roughly chop the onions, carrots and garlic and fry in the pan for 5 minutes, add the tomato purée briefly. Deglaze with the white wine, add the stock and bay.
- 3
Roast
Set the joint on the vegetables and put in the oven uncovered. Roast about 90 minutes, basting with the juices every 30 minutes. Done at 68 °C core temperature — without a thermometer: the juices run clear when pierced.
- 4
Rest
Wrap the joint in foil and rest 15 minutes. The temperature rises another 3 to 4 degrees and the juices redistribute — carve now and they run out.
- 5
Gravy
Press the pan juices and vegetables through a sieve into a pan, bring to the boil, thicken with the cornflour mixed in a little water. Add cream if you like. Season. Carve the joint into finger-thick slices.
Tips
- Core temperatures for pork: 62 °C slightly pink and very juicy, 68 °C cooked through and juicy, 75 °C cooked through and dry. Thermometer into the thickest part, not the fat.
- The leftovers are the best part: cold in thin slices on bread with mustard, or diced into a rösti the next day.
- For crackling: buy the joint with rind, score it in a diamond pattern and finish the last 15 minutes at 230 °C top heat.
What can I substitute?
Shoulder is just as juicy and a little cheaper. Loin is leaner — take it out at 62 to 65 °C or it dries.
Alcohol-free and suits pork especially well — the gravy turns slightly sweet.
For anyone who dislikes caraway. The roast then leans French rather than Austrian.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a pork roast need in the oven?
At 160 °C about 70 to 80 minutes per kilo after searing — so around 90 minutes for 1.2 kg. Only the core temperature is reliable: 68 °C. At low temperature (80 °C) it takes 3 to 4 hours and turns out even juicier.
Why does my pork roast come out dry?
Too long in the oven, or too lean a cut. Pork neck forgives 10 minutes too many; loin does not. Buy a thermometer, take it out at 68 °C, rest 15 minutes — and it will never be dry again.
What goes with pork roast?
Mash, Chnöpfli or fried potatoes, with carrots, red cabbage or Brussels sprouts. In autumn, apple sauce — sweetness suits pork.
Can I prepare a pork roast ahead?
Season and sear the day before, refrigerate, and put it in the oven the next day — saves half an hour on Sunday. A cooked joint keeps three days and is reheated in slices in the gravy.
How much does pork roast cost per person?
About 4 CHF per person with Swiss pork neck for six — pork is the cheapest roasting meat. About 6 CHF with sides.
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