Zhouxin Crispy Roast Pork 洲心烧肉

How it is made

Work starts at dawn, when pigs chosen for good meat are slaughtered. The carcass then goes through a series of careful steps: the shoulder meat (梅肉) is cut out, the bones are removed, salt is scattered over it, the pig is propped open, brushed with honey, covered with paper and put into the oven. From lighting the oven to taking the pig out takes at least about three hours.

Salting is treated as the key step. Zhouxin roasters season with salt alone, so that the pork keeps its own flavour. Roasters control the heat by experience; during roasting the pig is taken out several times to be pricked with holes that let air out, paper is applied again and the roasting angle is changed. The roasting is done the old way, in a fired kiln oven burning firewood rather than over an open fire, which the subdistrict office credits for the crisper result.

Flavour and texture

The aim is a golden colour outside and meat that has not scorched inside, with a fragrant, crisp bite and the plain taste of the pork, since no seasoning but salt is used.

Where it comes from

Qingcheng District lists Zhouxin roast pork among its district-level items of intangible cultural heritage. Many shops in Zhouxin sell it, enough that the subdistrict describes an industry starting to take shape. CCTV's Spring Festival food programme featured it in 2021, noting that in Zhouxin a portion of roast pork belongs on the table during the Spring Festival family reunion, to carry remembrance or celebration.