A WAY WITH: PORKGood roast pork, with its golden crackling and moist, buttery meat, is an infrequent guest at Irish dinner tables - largely because it's so difficult to source good pig meat.
But John McKenna of The Bridgestone Irish Food Guide has tracked down the real deal to an organic farm in Co Tipperary where Jens Krumpe allows his Tamworth pigs to roam freely and indulge their natural curiosity. Krumpe sells his pork, along with mature Angus beef, lamb and eggs, through a box scheme (087-6597313, terryglassorganics@eircom.net) and at Co Dublin farmers' markets in Dalkey (Fridays), Bray and Marlay Park (Saturdays), and Dún Laoghaire (Sundays). McKenna also rates the pork supplied by TJ Crowe, a pork and bacon butcher who delivers in the Tipperary, Limerick and north-Cork area (062-71137).
But McKenna adds: "To get this sort of quality, to be honest, you just have to buy a lot and put it in the freezer. So it can be an expedition, but these people really do care about the animals, and so for the effort you get great pork, ham, bacon and sausages, and you get into the loop, whereby, when the pigs are reared and prepared, they can arrange delivery."
Prime cuts of really good pork need little doing to them - just remember to score and dry the skin thoroughly before roasting, to get puffy, crispy crackling. Chefs with inspirational ways with pork include Jamie Oliver, who pairs pork loin with rhubarb in Happy Days with the Naked Chef (Michael Joseph, £20); Gennaro Contaldo, whose recipe for traditional Italian porchetta in Passione (Headline, £25) makes good use of inexpensive pork belly; and Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray, whose River Cafe Cook Book (Ebury Press, £25) features an unusual recipe for pork cooked in milk, with lemon rind and sage.
When you manage to track down a good pork supplier, your delivery may include some cheaper, fatty cuts of meat, and offal, and if you're wondering what to do with them, take a trip to Schull, in Co Cork, where the colourful Frank Krawczyk of West Cork Salamis (028-28579) runs regular one-day "Pig Out" courses on the secrets of salami-making, as well as demonstrating how to construct home smokers. He holds courses every Wednesday in February and every Tuesday in March and April; the cost of the day, including lunch and product tastings, is €160.
After all that, if all you have to work with is a tray of supermarket chops, the wonderful Real Food for Real People (reprinted due to demand, and available for €10 from www.moneystowncookbook.com), a school fundraiser that features tried-and-tested recipes from families in the Co Wicklow village of Moneystown, has this quick and easy recipe from Pam Staunton:
COCONUT AND ALMOND PORK CHOPS WITH APRICOT CHUTNEY
4 pork chops
140g breadcrumbs
50g desiccated coconut
25g ground almonds
2 eggs
a small amount of flour
apricot chutney
Dry the chops with kitchen paper. Mix the breadcrumbs, coconut and almonds together. Make an egg wash by mixing the eggs with a little water. Dip the chops in the flour, then, one at a time, dip them in the egg wash. Drain and place the chops into the breadcrumb mix, so that they are coated. Shallow-fry in a little oil until golden. Finish them on a rack in the oven and serve with apricot chutney.