Tony Jackman’s air fryer-roasted smoked pork neck with ginger, garlic and soy, served on a platter by Mervyn Gers Ceramics. (Photo: Tony Jackman)
I am not really one to buy products that have already been cured, marinated, smoked, or otherwise treated by hands and minds other than my own. I like to do those things myself, from making my own spice rubs and marinades to curing fish once in a while. But these compact little smoked pork necks were marked “roast” and on the back were instructions for how long to roast them in an air fryer and at what temperature.
This is my air fryer learning curve, so in the shopping basket it went, with a second basket in mind; one of the drawers of my twin air fryer.
I had to give it some kind of treatment of my own, so I chopped fresh ginger and garlic and mixed them with dark soy, sweet soy, black pepper and smoked sea salt. After tasting, it needed something more, so I stirred in a little honey.
This added up to a basic Asian approach, so I mixed together some soy (dark and sweet) with lemon juice, sweet chilli sauce and chopped garlic. This we poured over the sliced meat as an extra hit of Asian flavours.
Ingredients
1.2 kg smoked pork neck roast
Olive oil spray
For the baste:
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp avocado oil
Black pepper
Smoked Maldon sea salt to taste
For the side sauce:
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 or 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
Method
Mix the baste ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the side sauce ingredients together and have it ready to serve.
Preheat the air fryer at 180℃ for 10 minutes.
Spray the air fryer basket with olive oil spray. Place the joint in the air fryer basket. Make sure that the top of the pork is not touching the element above. Spoon the baste onto the pork on all sides.
Air fry the pork neck at 180℃ for 45 minutes. Let it rest for five minutes before carving. DM
Mervyn Gers Ceramics supplies dinnerware for the styling of some TGIFood shoots.
Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.
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