Pork crackling is as important a part of my Christmas dinner as the ham or the pudding.
Every year my dad makes a delicious Christmas cocktail to greet all the family when we arrive, each year it’s different and sometimes quite experimental, but this is generally when the crackling gets eaten as no one can wait till dinner time – cocktails and crackling what better way to start a beautiful Christmas evening…
Since most of us in Australia will buy a Smoked Leg of Ham – and you can’t use the skin off this, you will need to buy the pork skin separately from your butcher. It is so cheap, if not free if you are lucky, so buy up big.
There are some vital elements to making this that will determine whether you succeed or fail…
Firstly, get pork skin that has quite a bit of fat still under the skin, at minimum there needs to be .5cm. It’s the the contrast of the juicy fat under the crispy skin that makes pork crackling perfect!
Secondly, get your butcher to score the skin. You may think you can do it yourself but trying to score skin that’s flat on a bench is really hard. They have super sharp knives and can do it seconds flat!
Finally, the pouring over of the boiling water is what will open up the scored skin, which will then let in the salt, which then forms the crispy skin. Without one process the others won’t work.
Ingredients
Pork skin – it’s so cheap so get more than you think you will need because it will get eaten… with people still wanting more! Buy from your butcher and make sure the pieces you get have a good thickness of fat underneath the skin – this is vital to perfect crackling! There needs to be at least .5cm – 1cm of fat under the skin. Ask your butcher to score the skin for you, they have the knives for it.
Boiling water
1/4 c salt
Method
Pre heat oven to a very hot 220°
Put the scored pork skin on a plate and place in the kitchen sink.
Pour over boiling water and you will see the score marks open up. This is an important part to getting the salt to sit on it.
Remove from the sink and pat dry, lay on a large baking tray with shallow to mid height sides. There will be quite a bit of liquid fat and you don’t want that dripping all over your oven.
Rub the salt all over the top of the skin making sure you get it in the score marks.
Place in the oven, top shelf and cook for about 20-30 mins. Keep an eye on it and turn up or down the temperature after 20 mins if it hasn’t browned or is getting too brown.
It is perfect when it’s golden in colour and the skin has bubbled up.
Enjoy with a beer or a Christmas cocktail… Salty, porky goodness!
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- Pork skin – it’s so cheap so get more than you think you will need because it will get eaten… with people still wanting more! Buy from your butcher and make sure the pieces you get have a good thickness of fat underneath the skin – this is vital to perfect crackling! There needs to be at least .5cm – 1cm of fat under the skin. Ask your butcher to score the skin for you, they have the knives for it.
- Boiling water
- ¼ c salt
- Pre heat oven to a very hot 220°
- Put the scored pork skin on a plate and place in the kitchen sink.
- Pour over boiling water and you will see the score marks open up. This is an important part to getting the salt to sit on it.
- Remove from the sink and pat dry, lay on a large baking tray with shallow to mid height sides. There will be quite a bit of liquid fat and you don’t want that dripping all over your oven.
- Rub the salt all over the top of the skin making sure you get it in the score marks.
- Place in the oven, top shelf and cook for about 20-30 mins. Keep an eye on it and turn up or down the temperature after 20 mins if it hasn’t browned or is getting too brown.
- It is perfect when it’s golden in colour and the skin has bubbled up.
Can you make the day before serving?
Sorry for the delayed reply… For your next Christmas, yes, you can make it the day before. Just place in a airtight container with some paper towel on the bottom. Comes out wonderfully!
Cheers, Blondie 🙂
Can I do this in a webber?
Hi Jill,
Sorry for the delayed reply… I haven’t tried it so if you gave it a go, please let us know!
Cheers,
Blondie 🙂
[…] photo by findingfeasts.com.au […]
Hi! Is the temperature 220 Celsius? Around 430 F? Thank you!
Hi, correct, the temperature is in Celsius 🙂
Enjoy making it 🙂
Do you dry the skin in fridge at all after pouring boiling water over it?
And, do you use any oil on the skin?
I tried in an air fryer without success a couple of times, ended up rock hard and not nice. So want to try your method in the oven. Thanks.
Hi Esther. No to both drying in the fridge and using oil. Give this one a go, exactly as written and see how you go 🙂
Cheers, Katriina
I used the method as instructed on a piece of pork rind that my daughter had tried to cook into crackling but failed. I did not fail…the same piece turned out beautifully; armed with that knowledge I will confidently face an exquisite pork crackling future. Starting from scratch though, not someone else’s attempt. THE BOILING WATER DID THE TRICK.
Hi Vic, So happy that your pork crackling future looks bright! Glad to be of service 😃 – Blondie
Oh. My. Giddy. Aunt. I have just followed your recipe and am in pig (heehee) heaven! Thank you, thank you, thank you. My crackling looks like yours and tastes crispy and delicious. :-))
Hi Pea Green,
So glad to have been able to help! Truly nothing compares to perfect crackling… Blondie 🙂