Cannot make Crackling

[troy]

My Wife is upset she cannot make Crackling.
Tried different ways like rubbing the pork with oil and salt and having the oven up high before puuting the pork in but no success.
Could it be that the pork is to lean and not enough fat under the skin.
Troy

[clevelandv8]

score the skin with knife ie cut it then rub salt into it
dont add oil its fatty enough

[Agrav8_and_Lulu]

Hi Troy,

I get a paper towel and dry up all the moisture from the skin. Then cut lines in the skin then dry again all between the cuts. Then I put just enough olive oil to cover the skin lightly, then salt. Then I place it in the oven for 30 min on 220-240 deg, must be preheated. After that time reduce the heat to around 180 deg.

Cheers
Darren

[Drifty75]

All the tips above are pretty much spot on...

What I do is massage salt into it, and not a teaspoon either.. A heaped table spoon... You can always scrape off excess salt later..

Don't be scared to put a bit into it.. The more you use, the harder the crackle will be... However more salty...

Oven up to 250°c or approx PREHEATED... Chuck in roast for 25mins and then turn down to 180°c for the rest of the cooking time... If your crackle is being burnt, cover it with a double layer of alfoil, or simply remove it...

You can actually buy the crackle on it's own from Woolies etc so maybe buy some of that. (It's cheap, like $2 or $3) Practice your salt/coverage ratio with that and sample.. (Win for everyone)

:)

[truth stretcher]

nuke it in the microwave wrapped in paper towel 1-2 minutes .
Always perfect

[ashh]

Pro tip:
Before any cooking, score all the skin as per usuall, then place the pork in the kitchen sink on a rack, boil the kettle and then pour the boiling water over the skin, it will blanch it and make it shrink a little opening the knife scores nice and wide so you can get the salt right in and around the skin.
Use paper towel to dry any moisture up, then add alittle oil to the skin before salting,
that bit of oil will help the salt stick.
Baste in the juices of the pork every 10-15 mins....
Works a charm every time :)

[Horse]

All above is good but if all else fails then cut off the skin while resting the roast and bung it under a medium griller. Watch it carefully as it can burn quickly

[Dan5]

All above is good but if all else fails then cut off the skin while resting the roast and bung it under a medium griller. Watch it carefully as it can burn quickly


Yep...........couldn't agree more.....while the meat is resting before cutting whip the crackle off and grill it,underside first then topside.....Like Horse said watch it because it will burn quickly.

[Floating Rib]

One of the TV chefs recomended hitting it with the hair dryer on high to dry it out before popping in the oven(sorry cant remember for how long), moisture is what prevents the crackle apparently, score salt and put it in a hot oven 200deg for 20mins.

[Bros]

My wife couldn't make crackling as when it came out of the oven she wrapped it in Alfoil to keep the heat in while she cooked the veges. Well this turned out a mistake as it sealed the moisture in and that made the crackling soft so now it doesn't get wrapped in foil and the crackling is fine.

[bennykenny]

my way is a bit different, i dry the skin off with paper towel then rub some white vinegar into the skin, not alot maybe 1 tablespoon then proceed with the oil and salt.

[yalta]

use vinegar then salt then oil probally the best way going....

[74fpv01]

+1 for the hair dryer. The less moisture on the skin the better. Scored and salted is a must. Then bang it in the oven on a high heat for the first half hour or so. Good as gold.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[therapy]

By coincidence, this appears on the CM site today. Slightly different approach to the problem.

How to get the perfect pork crackling every time.


Everyone loves roast pork with good crackling – to get perfect crackling every time, lightly rub fine cooking salt into the skin of your pork and leave uncovered in your refrigerator overnight; this will draw out excess moisture from the skin.
Before roasting, rub off excess salt and caramelise the skin in a saucepan first, then roast in the oven. Your crackling will be light, airy and crunchy.
Always ask for rare-breed, free-roaming or organic pork products for the best flavour and good fat covering to retain moisture.

Our Chef's tip is courtesy of Justin North, one of Sydney’s star chefs, renowned for his modern French menus. His restaurant, Bécasse (http://www.becasse.com.au/), has been awarded two hats by the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, and his recently opened restaurant, Etch, has already received rave reviews. Justin is the author of French Lessons (http://www.hardiegrant.com.au/Books/Books/Book.aspx?isbn=9781740665377).


Regards....Terry.....

[Tangles]

Hairdryers, seriously fellas?

Just do it on a Weber charcoal bbq... problem solved..

[PinHead]

I can make a piece of steak on the barbie just like crackling..Oh, you mean pork crackling. Sorry Mrs Troy..am of no help but rest assured there are far worse cooks than you out here so don't stress over it.

[Gazza]

Q. What does the Vinegar "do?" ,I've never used it b4 regards crackling.

[do use the vinegar&water-soaked Ham-Bag at Xmas though, so the leg ham stays fresh for ages.]

[MudRiverDan]

Maybe set the pork in the fridge for a day or two before you cook it.
Meat these days has so much water in it, not like the old days.

Failing that buy some skin and deep fry it, then you can cook the roast but still serve up some crackling.
I like the second option better because you can get more crackling!

Dan

[Sumfish9]

This is from a lady who ran a cafe and made magnificent crackling everytime. Finally, she gave us her secret once the cafe closed. It goes back to meat safe days, however I never became sick after eating it. Recipe is No oil in pan, bring pork to room temperature, then rub in butter to scored fat, salt very well. Oven temp hot 220? (depending on ovens), cook until crackle has crackled, once crackled turn down to normal temp. You can remove the crackle and fat and sit aside if you want to cook your pork with a foil cover. Now, apparently I can't cook an egg properly....I guess everyone has their failures!!!

[blufish]

Tips about drying the skin are right. If you have time , dry with paper towel then leave in the fridge uncovered overnight.

Haven't tried the hair dryer but sounds like a good idea.

[Beatsworkin2]

Love the deep fried idea but salt and vinegar work every time run the oven flat. Out till 3 quater done then 180 till the end

[Patfink]

The way I do it is lightly score and salt to taste, put the joint in the oven for 2 thirds of cooking time, then remove from oven and take off the skin by getting a sharp knife and slide under the skin leaving only a thin layer of fat on the skin and the remainder of fat on the joint which keeps it nice and moist...then put the joint back in the oven with the piece of skin on the oven rack above - that way the the roasting tray catchs fat dripping of the skin and also makes the spuds taste better, then carry on cooking for remainder of time....perfect crackling every time:P

[Feral]

Mate I struggled for ever to get my pork to crackle, then the oven blew up and we replaced it. New oven crackles perfectly with hardly any effort.
I reckon the old oven wouldn't hold the heat.

[Patfink]

Yeah I supose a good oven helps but mine has always turned out nice and crackly using all sorts of ovens in the various places we have lived, using the method I descrlbed.....I think because it allows all the excess moisture and fats to drain out.

[troy]

Yeah I supose a good oven helps but mine has always turned out nice and crackly using all sorts of ovens in the various places we have lived, using the method I descrlbed.....I think because it allows all the excess moisture and fats to drain out.
Sinse using my weber kettle i now get it perfect without trying yet this does not take away the disasters i have had using my weber like roast spuds not only looking like golf balls but just as hard.

[ronmac]

Firstly I wash the meat under running cold water then pat dry . then pour boiling water over the rind ( assuming it has been scored ) then towel dry, cook as normal. cheers Ron.

[Noelm]

Hairdryers, seriously fellas?

Just do it on a Weber charcoal bbq... problem solved..

ahh, someone who knows how to cook pork, pork and Webers were made for each other I reckon, no problem making crispy crackling ever.

[Noelm]

I should add, my prep is to rub a bit of Olive oil, then table salt into/onto the cut/scored skin, then into the Weber, sit back and enjoy the aroma of the cooking pork

[deepfried]

i only ever slow cook pork these days so i cant do crackling in the oven. the quickest way to cheat is by deepfrying it. salt it overnight though. you can cut it into serving size pieces and go from there. its done this way in many a restuarant as well.

a little pork fat with the butter in the pan when cooking scallops is a winner a well. try it and you will be surprised.

[Triple]

Firstly I wash the meat under running cold water then pat dry . then pour boiling water over the rind ( assuming it has been scored ) then towel dry, cook as normal. cheers Ron.

The misses tried every which way but could never do a perfect crackling.. Got the boiling water trick from a chef friend and now perfect crackling every time.

[Nicko_Cairns]

Hi Troy,

I get a paper towel and dry up all the moisture from the skin. Then cut lines in the skin then dry again all between the cuts. Then I put just enough olive oil to cover the skin lightly, then salt. Then I place it in the oven for 30 min on 220-240 deg, must be preheated. After that time reduce the heat to around 180 deg.

Cheers
Darren

I do pretty much the same, if that still doesn't work you can put the crackling into a hot frying pan for a few minutes (crackle side down obviously), that makes it definitely crackle.. tried pork belly? this helps if it's slightly uneven and not all of the crackling works.. cheers.

[QuinTin]

Hairdryers, seriously fellas?

Just do it on a Weber charcoal bbq... problem solved.. yep i agree with this but do fine that some times it is just the .pork dun heaps in webers and had great ones and fails but do fine heat can be the ( KEY IS THE RIGHT HEAT)and all done same way never change only pork weight has changed i just rub oil in salt at my taste 1-2 but then rub the salt in the skin well to but each to the own good luck .

[sea raider]

Get another wife, one that can cook.

And get you beer

And owns a boat

[Dan5]

Just did a roast pork this arvo..........nice crispy crackle..........mmmmmmmm Geez it was good,toasted under the gorilla.

Dan