Start by inspecting the crackling on your roast. They are almost always pre-scored, but use a sharp knife to ensure they are uniform in depth.

Place coarse salt into all the cuts and on top of the crackling.

Insert a bay leaf into every other cut in the crackling.

Place the roast in an oven-safe dish.

Cook the roast in the oven with the crackling facing up for 4 hours at 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) conventional oven.

Take the roast out of the oven and place it on a cutting board.

Pour water into the bottom of the oven-safe dish and put the dish back in the oven.

Turn the oven to maximum heat and set it to fan mode. If it goes up to 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit), that’s perfect.

When the liquid boils, take the dish out and pour the liquid into a glass. Use a spatula/sauce ladle to get everything out. This liquid will add flavor to the gravy. Place the glass in the fridge/freezer immediately so the fat will rise to the top of the glass.

When the oven is blazing hot, place the roast back into the oven-safe dish (with the crackling facing up) and put the roast in the oven so that the crackling is only a few cm from the top of the oven.

It will need between 15-25 minutes; the goal is for the crackling to become crispy. We took ours out after 18 minutes, and it had super delicious and beautiful puffed crackling and burnt bay leaves (just discard these).

Transfer the roast to a cutting board and let it rest for about 20 minutes (uncovered) before slicing.

Slice the roast; you can decide whether each slice has one or two pieces of crackling.

The roast is now ready to serve.

Start by separating the fat and the drippings in the glass from the pork roast. If you’ve made a duck roast, do the same. You can easily use flavorings from both roasts in this sauce.

Begin by adding fat to a pot. It’s ideal if you have fat from your pork/duck roast, but otherwise, you can use butter. Let it melt and, when it bubbles, add flour while whisking. It will form a smooth mass and should be stirred for a couple of minutes. This is called a roux, and the longer you cook it before adding liquid, the more flavor it gives. If cooked too long, it will become very bitter.

Add a little pork stock/roasting drippings at a time while whisking vigorously. If you add too much at once, it will clump.

Once everything is dissolved and has a smooth consistency, add cream, still stirring continuously.

Now add gravy browning as needed until the sauce is dark.

Add bay leaves and a little salt and pepper.

Taste the sauce and add cream and redcurrant jelly if needed.

Let it simmer a bit longer while stirring for a couple of minutes.

Add a bit more pepper and redcurrant jelly.

Remove the sauce from the heat and let it stand until just before serving. This brings out the flavors.

Return it to the heat and warm it up.

Taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, or redcurrant jelly if you think it lacks flavor.

Remember to remove the bay leaves, and note that the sauce doesn’t need to be piping hot; it actually tastes best around 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit).

Enjoy.

Combine allspice, bay leaves, sugar, and vinegar in a pot. Bring the brine to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Pour the brine into a bowl and let it cool so it’s cold when needed.

Slice the cucumbers thinly. The thickness is up to you; the thicker the slices, the crunchier they will be. Just ensure they are evenly sliced.

Place them in a bowl/deep plate and sprinkle a thin layer of fine salt over them.

Let them sit for 20 minutes to release some of their liquid so they don’t become limp.

Take a handful of cucumbers and squeeze out the excess liquid. Place them in the brine and repeat with the remaining cucumbers.

Stir them well and let sit for 20 minutes before serving.

Chop the red cabbage and put it in a pot. Do not use the core.

Add vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil.

Turn down the heat and let it simmer. It takes anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. If you use a lid, it takes less time, but it doesn’t improve the flavor.

Don’t worry if it turns very dark at first; just give it time, and you’ll end up with beautifully burgundy-colored cabbage unless you use very fresh red cabbage, in which case it will remain pink. But in December, fresh red cabbage isn’t available.

The red cabbage can be made well in advance; just store it in a sterilized pickling jar with the brine.