How to make pork crackling (2024)

FAQs

How do you get good crackling on pork? ›

Insufficient heat will make it hard for the skin to get really crisp. Make sure to take the pork out of the fridge 30 minutes before you cook it so that the meat reaches room temperature. A high starting temperature (240C/220C fan/gas 9 in this recipe) is essential for crisping up the pork.

Place the pork, rind-side up, in a roasting pan. Drizzle the oil over the pork, then rub the salt mixture into the cuts. Rub a little oil and salt into the scored rind and place in the oven.

Fill a cast-iron pot halfway with oil and heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees F. Add the pork belly to the oil and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown and the skins begin to float, crack and pop, about 1 hour. Drain on a sheet tray lined with paper towel and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

After degreasing your crackling using a paper towel, place the cracklings in an airtight container. You can also settle for a food-storage bag that can be sealed and not permeable to air. It's best to avoid paper bags as they'd soil up in the fridge or freezer and ruin your pork crackling.

boiling water trick

This helps to prep the skin to crackle as its now "pre-cooked" so to speak. Make sure to pat dry with paper towel to further dry afterwards.

It is a fact of life that dry skin crisps better than moist skin. Scotese's trick to crispy pork belly is to rub equal parts baking soda and salt into the skin—the combo of baking soda and salt will draw out moisture and set you up for success.

Rub salt into the skin thoroughly, then wrap in a clean dry tea towell and put into the fridge overnight. In the morning, unwrap the meat (remember to put the tea towell directly into the wash) and rub the skin with a small amount of butter all over. Put the joint into a low oven at 160 deg C for 3 hours.

If you've missed a step along the way and the skin hasn't crackled, don't give up. Cut it away from the meat and place it on a baking tray lined with foil, then brush with oil and sprinkle with salt. Cook under a preheated grill until the magic happens. Keep a close eye on it as it can easily burn.

Rub the skin with olive oil, and either vinegar or lemon juice, to help conduct the heat of the oven to the skin. Turn the oven to at least 230C and blast the joint with heat for about 30 minutes or until the skin starts to bubble and brown.

A close cousin to pork rinds, cracklins are essentially what happens when you leave a little bit of fat on the pork skin and fry it up. The result is a heavier, chewier product with a meatier crunch. Though they don't puff up like pork rinds, they're addictively satisfying in their own right.

What is the best rub for crackling? ›

The secret to Crunchy Pork Crackling Rub is its balance of salt, umami, citrus and herbs, using fennel seed, lemon myrtle, bay leaf and garlic. Rubbed into the cuts of pork skin, it creates the crunchiest, tastiest crackling you may have ever tasted.

Using Smeg's 'Ferrari' function, supercook and apple cider vinegar results in exceptional, toothsome crackling with meltingly tender pork. For best results, rub with salt and vinegar the day before and dry thoroughly before roasting.

Rub the skin liberally with salt and then set the rotisserie turning. Cook for approximately 90 minutes initially over high heat to get the skin to bubble and crisp then turn the heat down so that it cooks but doesn't burn.

The heat at which you cook pork cracklins can also cause them to become hard. If the temperature is not high enough, the skin won't crack properly, resulting in a rubbery texture. Make sure to cook pork skin in oil that has a smoke point of 400 degrees.

If there are areas of skin that have not crackled, you can place them under a hot grill or use a kitchen blowtorch. Be careful in either case as these methods can easily burn the crackle. To avoid burning under the grill, place the pork on the lowest shelf of the oven and leave the door open. Watch it like a hawk.

Do not cover pork crackling joints while they're cooking, or you'll be left with soggy crackling. There's no need to baste pork while it's cooking as the fat should keep it moist, but some cooks like to brush the crackling with a little extra oil once or twice.