Without crackling, roast pork is just like toast without butter. It’s pointless to have one without the other.
Roast pork is a combination of tender, sweet pork and the unexpected crunch of the salty, blistered crackling, which makes it one of the most popular dishes in the world. Here’s how you can get crackling.
Buy pork from a butcher that cares about the origin of their meat. Pork from female pigs will be better than pork from male pigs. Their hormone production can produce a certain flavor called boar taint.
You can cook pork belly, boneless pork shoulder, or a rack of pork loin. Once you have it home, remove it from its packaging and dry it with paper towels. Great crackling happens when you have dry skin.
Next, score the skin with a sharp, short knife such as a Stanley knife at intervals of one centimeter. You should not cut into the meat as this could cause the skin to become brittle. Make sure to cut to the edges. This creates irrigation channels that allow the rendered fat to drain.
Cover the pork and refrigerate it for 24 hours. You don’t need to curse out loud because even an hour will dry the skin and give it more crunch.
Take the pork out of the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.
Bake at 220C fan-forced (240C conventional) for 20 minutes. Line a baking pan with baking paper. After rubbing the pork with olive oil, rub it with some sea salt.
To kick-start crackling, roast the pork for 30 mins. Then reduce the heat to 170C fan-forced (190C convention). To ensure that the pork is cooked evenly, roast it for 40 minutes per kilogram.
Turn the heat up to 220C fan forced (240C conventional), and then give the pork a blast for 10 minutes. The crackling should be crispy, golden, and blistered.
Cover the roast with foil for 10 minutes. Cut through the crackling to serve (the scores make it super easy), which should make enough noise that everyone at the table will stop talking.
