By Chef Marcus Denby From Woodfire Grill
Woodfire Grill Chef Marcus Denby shares his tips to perfect pork crackling.
Method:
Score your skin without cutting into the meat below. Try to do this the day before you plan to cook, and then leave it uncovered in the fridge to dry out.
Heat your oven to 225 degrees Celsius
Boil some water, and then pour over the scored skin. Dry the skin and meat with paper towel.
Rub salt and oil into the skin and place your meat onto a tray (with shallow sides – if you only have a deep roasting dish, place the meat on crumbled aluminium foil to raise the meat, otherwise it will steam the side).
Cook on 225 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.
The skin will start to crackle, and this is where most of the crackling process will happen.
Reduce the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and cook for the required time according to weight (30 to 35 mins per kg).
It’s OK to serve pork medium with a little pinkness, this is when it’s at its juiciest. The longer you cook the meat, the dryer it will become.
And always remember to rest your meat for at least 20 minutes so all of the juices go back into the meat, and relax the meat so it’s juicy and tender.
