Not Just a Man's World

I know I gave a teaser to doing roast pork with crackling a few weeks ago, but having now successfully got it to crackle when I had guests for dinner it’s time I shared how to guarantee getting your crackling to crackle.

For my crackling skills I must thank Delia Smith’s Complete Illustrated Cookery Course.  I don’t know where I would be without this particular cookbook!

How to get perfect crackling

1. Make sure the skin is scored well – ensure there is sufficient scoring and use a sharp knife to score it deeply.  I score it right through to the bottom of the fat layer and the scorings are finger-width apart.
2. Make sure the skin is completely dry – unwrap it some time in advance of cooking it and wipe dry with kitchen paper.
3. Never put fat on the skin.
4. Leave salting to the last minute – salt the skin of the joint generously but only do this just before you put it in the oven.  I leave salting until after the oven has pre-heated.  The salt draws out moisture so if you salt too soon the skin will be moist when it goes in the oven (see point 2).  I made this error once because I’d forgotten that the oven needed time to preheat but solved the problem by wiping it completely dry with kitchen paper and resalting just as I was going to put it in the oven.
5. Make sure your oven is really hot – thanks to Delia’s recommendation I now put my joint in for the first 20 minutes at 245C (gas mark 9/475F) which really gives the skin a hard blast.  I can usually already see the crackling forming by the end of this first 20 minutes.
6. Use a roasting tin that has shallow sides, or keep the joint well away from the edges of the tin – Delia advises that the skin won’t crackle if it doesn’t get proper exposure to the heat.

Finishing touches to roasting your pork joint

1. Once the first 20 minutes have passed turn down the oven as follows:
   -  For leg or loin joints: roast for 35 minutes per pound (450g) at 190C (gas mark 5/375F)
   -  For other joints (eg. shoulder): roast for 45 minutes per pound (450g) at 180C (gas mark 4/350F).
2. Basting:  I tend to leave the joint unbasted until the last 45 minutes.  At that point I have usually taken the joint out of the oven briefly to add shallots and garlic (and sometimes carrots) to the roasting tin so I use the opportunity to liberally baste the ends of the joint with juices form the pan.  I also lightly baste the skin, which has usually crackled well by now but is looking a bit pasty white, with the meat juices.  I then repeat this process about 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
3. Standing:  I recommend that you leave the joint to stand on the serving plate for 10 minutes after removing it from the oven before you carve it.  This lets the meat relax and let’s the moisture seep through the whole joint, making each slice moister.  This is also the perfect opportunity to make the gravy.
4. Gravy:  this is best if you use the meat juices from the pan.  Add a little water to the roasting tin and then put the tin over a gentle heat while using the back of a spoon to lift the best of the dark patches of meat juice from the bottom of the roasting pan.  I then recommend you pour this off into a saucepan to thicken it but be warned – pork is very fatty.  You will probably need to scoop the fat off the top (or carefully pour them off) before thickening the juices.

I hope these tips help you get the perfect roast pork dinner!

Roast pork and roasted vegetables - the perfect paleo dinner

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