I love Pork Crackling (which you may know as Pork Rinds or Pork Scratchings, depending on where you’re from). But it’s often a disappointment, either soft and underdone, or burn and completely wasted! But when it’s crunch and crackly, it is so good.
Pork crackling is obviously mainly fat, which makes it the perfect Paleo snack. Just a small amount is extremely satiating, so you can easily cook enough to last for many servings. Whilst you can buy them, one look at the ingredients (not to mention the uncertainty about the quality of the pork used) will probably tell you to get in the kitchen and make your own!
I’ve been trying to work out the best way to get perfect Pork crackling, which I’ll share with you below.
Firstly with Pork, perhaps more so than any other meat, quality really counts. I always go for Pasture Raised* pork and am careful to buy the best quality I can. If I could only buy one type of meat organic and pasture raised, without doubt I would choose pork.
You can use a few different cuts, blade or a roasting joint work well, but my favourite is Pork belly.
How To Make Perfect Pork Crackling
Equipment
- Sharp knife
- Paper towels
- Roasting tray
Ingredients
- Pork belly or other cuts like blade or roasting joint
- Boiling water
- Sea salt Himalayan or Celtic sea salt recommended
Instructions
- Dry the Skin: Dry the pork skin thoroughly using a paper towel.
- Score the Skin: With a sharp knife, score the skin, leaving the cuts about a finger width apart. Create either diagonal stripes or a diamond pattern. Make sure you score through the skin, but not through to the meat.
- Pour Boiling Water: Pour boiling water over the skin. This step might seem odd, but it helps in achieving the perfect texture.
- Dry and Salt the Skin: Dry the skin thoroughly once more, then rub sea salt into it, making sure the salt gets right through into the cracks. Some people add oil here, but it's optional as great results can be achieved without it.
- Rest Overnight: If possible, leave the salted pork in the fridge overnight.
- Prepare to Cook: When ready to cook, add more salt to the skin.
- Cook: Preheat the oven to 180C. Cook the pork for about 15 minutes per kilo. For the last 15 minutes of cooking, turn the oven up to about 240C to achieve a crispy finish.
Notes
- Quality matters: Use pasture-raised pork for the best results.
- Ensure thorough drying of the skin at each step for optimal crispiness.
- Adjust the cooking time based on the weight of your pork cut.
Please share your tips below, I know almost everyone seems to have a slightly technique.
*Pigs will tend to eat lots of different foods – not just grass, which is why grass-fed isn’t a term used to refer to pork and other pig related products. “Pasture raised” means they’ve been raised to eat their natural diet, which may include whatever they find as they roam about the pasture – grass, bugs, corn, fruit, veggies, weeds etc. |
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Oh thanks for this, I am going to have a lovely Sunday roast and have a go with this.
So far I have never managed to get crackling and I have tried a few times.
Good luck!
I haven't tried the boiling water part – what is the advantage of this? I might give it a try.
I however have consistent results with drying the skin, oiling and heavily salting, and cooking hot to start with, then cooler – I always use maximum temperature to begin with, then as soon as you've got the skin blistering all over, you can turn the oven right down and slowly cook the pork to tender perfection.
Hi would love to try this recipe, The method that you pour boiling water over first seems great but if I was leaving it in the fridge overnight already salted would I pour the boiling water before I put it in the fridge overnight or the next morning before I am going to cook it and then re pat dry and salt again. Please help.
I just did mine on the barbecue; on the meat for the first 2.5 hours (very low temp, using my bbq more like a smoker (NO heat directly under the meat), then sliced off the skin & fat, retuned it to the grill @ about 300-350 degrees and left it for 1/2 an hour. Perfect.