How do you get the perfect crackling?
Discussion
I have managed to get good crackling before but I have a feeling it was more luck than judgement.
I'm doing a bit of belly pork tomorrow and normally I leave it out of the fridge for a while, rub some salt in then into an oven for about 180 for an hour then back up the heat for the last half an hour. This does work most of the time but is there any other way to ensure the perfect crackle?
Thanks all ph chefs
I'm doing a bit of belly pork tomorrow and normally I leave it out of the fridge for a while, rub some salt in then into an oven for about 180 for an hour then back up the heat for the last half an hour. This does work most of the time but is there any other way to ensure the perfect crackle?
Thanks all ph chefs
Once the meat is at room temp
Put deep cuts in the skin with a really sharp knife.
The pour a kettle of boiling water over the meat and pat dry
Sprinkle a lot of table salt over the meat and rubover the skin and it into all of the now open cuts you made earlier
Leave for about 30 mins
Wipe of the excess salt with a paper towel
Place the meat on a bed of roughly chopped root veg and roast as the butcher/label tells you
Put deep cuts in the skin with a really sharp knife.
The pour a kettle of boiling water over the meat and pat dry
Sprinkle a lot of table salt over the meat and rubover the skin and it into all of the now open cuts you made earlier
Leave for about 30 mins
Wipe of the excess salt with a paper towel
Place the meat on a bed of roughly chopped root veg and roast as the butcher/label tells you
sherman said:
Once the meat is at room temp
Put deep cuts in the skin with a really sharp knife.
The pour a kettle of boiling water over the meat and pat dry
Sprinkle a lot of table salt over the meat and rubover the skin and it into all of the now open cuts you made earlier
Leave for about 30 mins
Wipe of the excess salt with a paper towel
Place the meat on a bed of roughly chopped root veg and roast as the butcher/label tells you
I leave the salt on. J Oliver does a similar one except he puts cider vinegar on aswell the day before and leaves it in the fridge to dry out even further.Put deep cuts in the skin with a really sharp knife.
The pour a kettle of boiling water over the meat and pat dry
Sprinkle a lot of table salt over the meat and rubover the skin and it into all of the now open cuts you made earlier
Leave for about 30 mins
Wipe of the excess salt with a paper towel
Place the meat on a bed of roughly chopped root veg and roast as the butcher/label tells you
Me? Very simple: Brush on olive oil, plenty of salt, oven up to the max. Joint in until brown and crispy on top, lower heat, cook as normal.
For a very cheap joint of pork, you know the ones, the barrel shaped ones with string found in the supermarkets the trick is no only to score it more, but when 3/4 done remove the entire crackling off the joint. Then using a spoon, from the back of the crackling, remove all that fatty deposit and pop it back on the joint, now covered in foil wrapped tight, to baste it. Now with your thinner, but more healthy, crackling salt the lower side which was fatter, do not bother with the slightly crisp topside.
Then just place it back on top of the foil wrapped pork joint for the last 1/4 time. It will get more and more crisp, the sort that the older folk and their dentures will complain about before asking for a second bit! The fat now melting in the foil wrapped pork will stop that going dry.
Re-assemble just before serving of course.
Works every time. The crackling will be crisp and not have that underlying greasy backing you can sometimes get with the really cheap joints.
If you have bought something good though you will not need to do that, this is just something if you have an average bit of pork and want to make the most out of it.
Then just place it back on top of the foil wrapped pork joint for the last 1/4 time. It will get more and more crisp, the sort that the older folk and their dentures will complain about before asking for a second bit! The fat now melting in the foil wrapped pork will stop that going dry.
Re-assemble just before serving of course.
Works every time. The crackling will be crisp and not have that underlying greasy backing you can sometimes get with the really cheap joints.
If you have bought something good though you will not need to do that, this is just something if you have an average bit of pork and want to make the most out of it.
Edited by Gandahar on Sunday 20th July 11:06
If you want pulled pork and crackling then get yourself a rolled shoulder - lots of salt rubbed in to the scored skin and then season the meat with salt and pepper then in the oven on a raised wire rack for 230c for 30 mins, you want to see the skin pop up and expand on top if not then your oven isn't hot enough. Once your happy remove from the oven and the transfer to another roasting tray and place on top of some of onion, carrots, garlic, thyme and sage then cover with foil twice and back in to the oven at 110c and leave for 5-6hrs or 130c for 3-4hrs depending on when you want to eat it. Then remove the foil, don't panic the crackling will look like a soggy mess, crank the heat back up to 200c and cook for a further 40-50mins. Crispy crackling and meat which you can tear apart with a spoon.
sherman said:
Once the meat is at room temp
Put deep cuts in the skin with a really sharp knife.
The pour a kettle of boiling water over the meat and pat dry
Sprinkle a lot of table salt over the meat and rubover the skin and it into all of the now open cuts you made earlier
Leave for about 30 mins
Wipe of the excess salt with a paper towel
Place the meat on a bed of roughly chopped root veg and roast as the butcher/label tells you
I do this using a stanley knife for deep regular cutsPut deep cuts in the skin with a really sharp knife.
The pour a kettle of boiling water over the meat and pat dry
Sprinkle a lot of table salt over the meat and rubover the skin and it into all of the now open cuts you made earlier
Leave for about 30 mins
Wipe of the excess salt with a paper towel
Place the meat on a bed of roughly chopped root veg and roast as the butcher/label tells you
eggchaser1987 said:
Thanks for the advice all. The joint is not a cheap supermarket one, it is a cheap cur but got from out local butchers.
I shall let you know how it has gone later this evening. Fingers crossed
It's probably my favourite non-treat cut, not least because we all get enough crackling. Shame it's become fashionable and therefore less cheap.I shall let you know how it has gone later this evening. Fingers crossed
Bill said:
It's probably my favourite non-treat cut, not least because we all get enough crackling. Shame it's become fashionable and therefore less cheap.
Have to say we have found that too. Still around our way it's not too popular though so cheap enough for a mid week meal normally. Going off topic we have moved onto brest of lamb slow roasted but it does mean eating a bit later if you want it left in the oven long enough.
The answer to perfect crackling is that the skin of the meat needs to be dry.
Score it with a Stanley knife (or some such) like a teenage emo, and leave the joint in the bottom of the fridge uncovered overnight.
In the morning, the skin should be nice and hard.
Remove an hour so before roasting to bring up to temp, then rub into all the cuts with salt and pepper, a bit of oil, garlic / crumbled bay leaves / fennel if liked, and roast.
If after all that, there's chewy rind but no crackling, remove the rind and nuke in the microwave between two plates for 3 minutes. (Thanks to PHer Don for that tip.) Bacon also works nuked in the same way. The 'drier' the cure, the better.
Score it with a Stanley knife (or some such) like a teenage emo, and leave the joint in the bottom of the fridge uncovered overnight.
In the morning, the skin should be nice and hard.
Remove an hour so before roasting to bring up to temp, then rub into all the cuts with salt and pepper, a bit of oil, garlic / crumbled bay leaves / fennel if liked, and roast.
If after all that, there's chewy rind but no crackling, remove the rind and nuke in the microwave between two plates for 3 minutes. (Thanks to PHer Don for that tip.) Bacon also works nuked in the same way. The 'drier' the cure, the better.
Thanks for the advice all. I had a very nice bit of belly pork, only to be disturbed by going out to purchase a car, but this gave it time to slow cook.
The butcher scored the meat when I got it, I rubbed in some oil and salt then put it in for 20 minutes on a high heat then turned it down to about 120 while I went out to put a deposit down on the car.
As this is ph it was nothing special a 206 for the oh and probably me to use as well. Anywat the crackling came out very nice. I do have a picture but I haven't worked out how to resoze it to put it up via my phone!
The butcher scored the meat when I got it, I rubbed in some oil and salt then put it in for 20 minutes on a high heat then turned it down to about 120 while I went out to put a deposit down on the car.
As this is ph it was nothing special a 206 for the oh and probably me to use as well. Anywat the crackling came out very nice. I do have a picture but I haven't worked out how to resoze it to put it up via my phone!
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