Pork Neck with Fennel and Oranges

METHOD

• 1
  Preheat the oven to 160 ˚C.
• 2
  Generously salt the meat on all sides and tie it with kitchen twine to maintain a cylindrical shape.
• 3
  Cut the fennel lengthwise into quarters. Finely grate the zest from the cleaned orange – be careful to only get the orange part. Then peel the orange and separate it into individual segments. Slice the garlic.
• 4
  Heat oil in a pan over high heat and sear the meat on all sides until golden brown. Then transfer it to a casserole dish. Add the sliced fennel to the pan and sauté it on all sides until golden brown. Reduce the heat by half, add the orange segments, fennel seeds, pepper, and orange juice.
• 5
  While stirring constantly with a flat wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan; they will dissolve in the liquid. Then pour the entire contents of the pan into the casserole dish with the meat. Add butter, garlic, and 100 ml of water. Cover the casserole dish with a lid and place it in the preheated oven for 2 hours.
• 6
  Then increase the oven temperature to 190 ˚C, remove the lid, turn the meat, add the grated orange zest, and bake for another 20 minutes until golden brown. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing.