Recipe: Slow-roast pork shoulder with paprika, mustard and baked beans

I served this at my very first supper club. It takes a long time, but when it’s ready it just falls apart and is so juicy and unctuous.

The skin is blackened and crispy but still delicious and the meat couldn’t be softer. A pile of soft, sweet pork falling apart with some crispy polenta chips, creamy, crunchy coleslaw, sweet, smoky baked beans, and a bit of tangy barbecue sauce on the side; what could be better in life?

Serves 8-10

For the pork

2kg pork shoulder, boned, rolled and tied by your butcher

2tbs English mustard

1tbs caster sugar

1tbs smoked paprika

1tsp salt

1tsp ground black pepper

500ml water

For the beans

100g pancetta, chopped

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and grated

250ml water

60ml ketchup

2tbs maple syrup

2tbs sunflower oil

1tbs white wine vinegar

2tbs English mustard

½tsp ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

Good pinch of salt

2 x 400g tins haricot beans, drained

Preheat the oven to 130°C. Take the pork shoulder and heavily smear it in the mustard, sugar, paprika, salt and pepper. Pour 500ml water into the bottom of the tin, add the pork and cook in the oven for nine whole hours.

After five hours, cover the pork with foil and ensure it always has liquid in the bottom of the tray. Your house will smell amazing. The baked beans were inspired by a recipe for some lentils in The Art of Living According to Joe Beef [by David McMillan, Frédéric Morin, and Meredith Erickson], which I adapted to suit.

Fry the pancetta and onion until golden and soft, then add the garlic. Next, add the water, ketchup, maple syrup, sunflower oil, vinegar, mustard, black pepper, bay leaf, some salt and the haricot beans. Cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes, checking it and stirring occasionally, adding a bit more water if need be. Shred the pork before serving