2020 has been a long and winding road, and now as we head into the festive season, we’ve got an extra special treat for you our wonderful customers: the most perfect, super-simple roast pork with crackling recipe.
This recipe was hand-written by our very own Product Specialist (DC Norris, BCH Ltd and AMTek Microwaves), Geoff Nugent, in a moment of “cook-spiration”! As a former chef, what began as a top tip email from Geoff to a colleague has now become a firm favourite in the FPE family and something we’d like to share with you all.
So, without further ado, here’s Geoff’s easy roast pork with crackling recipe.
Overview:
What you’ll need
The initial recipient of this roast pork with crackling recipe, Andrew Butcher (FPE Financial Controller) had just bought a spit roast, but you can use a normal oven.
For this crispy pork crackling recipe, you’ll also need:
- A joint of pork – shoulder or loin. Something with a nice rind (tip: it’s best to buy fresh pork that hasn’t been vacuum packed!)
- Some white vinegar
- Plenty of salt
- Paper towel
- Vegetable/canola oil
- A meat thermometer
- Spices (optional)*
| Prep Time | Prep time can’t be rushed to get good pork crackling. I usually leave it uncovered in the fridge for about 4 hours but you can leave it overnight. |
| Cooking Time | Blast the high heat for 30 mins (maybe longer) to get it crackled, then about 30mins per 500g of pork. 2kg = 2hrs. |
| Serves How Many | 2kg pork is around 6 to 8 serves. |
Roast pork with crackling recipe: instructions
- Take a sharp knife and score the skin into the fat layer (if not already scored).
- Pour boiling water over the skin – this will open the cuts.
- Dry the pork skin with a paper towel.
- Pour a little vinegar over the pork skin and let it sit for a few minutes, then dry with a paper towel.
- Add plenty of salt to the skin and rub well into the cuts.
- Place in the fridge uncovered for a minimum of 4 hours.
- Remove pork from the fridge and dry again with a paper towel – it needs to be as dry as possible at this stage for perfect crackling.
- Add a light drizzle of vegetable oil/canola and rub it over the dry skin (don’t use olive oil as it has a lower flash point and doesn’t work as well).
- Now add plenty of salt* – I usually add it in 2 steps. First, rub it deep into the cracks of the skin, then put another generous sprinkle over the skin and leave it on the skin as it falls (no more rubbing).
- You’ll need to preheat the oven to make sure you have a high, even heat to start the cooking (220 to 230ºC) and cook for at least 20 to 30 minutes at this starting heat. High heat at the start is absolutely essential!
- Once the skin starts to crackle and go hard, turn the heat down to 170 to 180ºC and cook until the internal temp is 75ºC **.
- Once cooked, let it rest on the bench for about 20 mins before carving.
*If you want, you can grind up spices into the salt for a little extra flavour (fennel, garlic and onion powder is nice)
** if you aren’t quite happy with the crackling at the end of cooking, you can always give it a quick blast at a high temp again.
So, there you have it – we’ll hazard a guess the easiest roast pork with crackling recipe you’ll find on the internet.
Serving suggestions – and a word from the chef
Now you have your pork crackling joint recipe, you need to complete the story. And like newlyweds waking up on Christmas morning, roast pork and apple sauce are the perfect pair. Happily, one of our customers, Beerenberg, makes the best apple sauce around.
Packed full of flavoursome apples, it is mild and unspiced. It’s the ideal condiment with roast pork – and cracking crackling of course!
Serve with simple summer veg, or perhaps Beerenberg’s own Beetroot, Hazelnut & Quinoa Salad. There are plenty more recipes to choose from on their website, including another classic at Christmas, BBQ Butterflied Prawns.
Finally, a word from the chef:
“Enjoy having a ‘crack’ at this recipe… it’s all about the preparation. Be patient!”
Thank you to all our customers, new and old, for their support this year. From all of us here at FPE, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2021.
Like what you read? You can also check out the rest of our Resources section for articles on food processing industry trends, the perfect combination of meat processing plant equipment and the NoahFace thermal screening kiosk.
