We use a whole Gloucester Old Spot pig every week at The Pipe and Glass. These are selected, killed and butchered by one of my local butchers, and friend, James White. The legs and shoulders are slow-roasted for Sunday lunch, the belly is used for our potted pork, and the loin is cut mostly into chops that appear on our specials board in many different guises. Customers always ask, ‘How do you get such fantastic crackling?’ It’s simple - by using pork with a high fat content, such as the Gloucester Old Spot, which creates the most fabulous flavour and crispy crackling. James actually finds it hard to sell Gloucester Old Spot to the public because his customers are generally put off by the high fat content, but that’s exactly where the flavour and texture comes from.
