Instructions: Place the pork in a shallow tin fat side up then rub it well with plenty of salt making sure you massage the grains into the slashes on the fat.

The smaller grains will get right inside and make it puff; while the sea salt flakes will make it crispy.

Next tuck the thyme under and around the pork then bed the peeled onions and halved garlic bulbs into the nest of herbs.

Sprinkle some salt over the onions and twist pepper over everything. then add a shake of olive oil.

Roast for an hour in an oven heated to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5 then turn up to 220C/ 425F/Gas Mark 7 for 45 minutes.

Remove the roasting tin and turn up the oven to the maximum tempertaure. Remove the pork from the tin place it on a baking tray (bottom side up so that its resting on its bones) and put back in the oven for a further 15 minutes. This guarantees that all of the skin turns to perfect puffed crackling.

Meanwhile remove the onions and garlic from the roasting tin and keep warm.

Add a pint of water to the tin and bubbly away on the hob to make the gravy scraping it a little to release the caramelised bits that are stuck to the base.

Strain the gravy into a pan ready for it to be reheated before serving.

Serve the pork sliced into chops with the roast onions garlic forked from its papery skin and gravy.

Mash is a must.

Buy your chops as a joint (a rack of pork) that has its ribs still attached and comes rolled in a collar of skin and fat. Once cooked juiced and crisped all you do is slice it into chops all moist and crunchy in all the right places.

Serves 6

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