If you’re cooking Roast Pork for a Sunday lunch, some of your family and friends might be waiting with bated breath to see if you’ve managed to create a succulent piece of crunchy crackling. If you’re looking to find out how to make the best pork crackling – then stick around!

Crackling for Pork Joints

Pork Crackling comes from the skin of the pork joint. It should be jam packed with flavour, as it is usually covered with seasoning such as salt or perhaps other flavourings you like. Crackling is supposed to be crunchy, and cracks when you bite into it, hence the name ‘Crackling’.

Brush the skin of the joint before you cook it, with oil – this will help to make the skin of the joint hot and help it to crisp up more effectively.

To help the fat around the skin escape during the cooking, you need to also score the skin of the pork joint. Make sure you don’t cut too far into the joint though; it will make the crackling less crispy. Each cut should be about 5mm apart and deep enough to cut through the rind down into the layer of fat, but not right into the meat.

After you’ve rubbed oil and salt over the joint – just pat it softly dry with a kitchen towel. This is just to make sure the skin isn’t too soft.

When cooking the meat do not cover it. Make sure it’s on at a high heat for the first 10 minutes of cooking – About 230C. Then turn it down to about 180 degrees celsius for the rest of the cooking. If you find that your crackling is still not crispy towards the end of cooking the pork – put it up to a high heat for the last 10 minutes or so. Make sure you don’t cook it too much though as this will dry out the meat.

Remember NOT to baste your joint during cooking. This will soften the crackling.

And there you have it. Many people struggle with how to make the best pork crackling, but it is really easy. Just follow the same formula each time.

Looking for pork that is perfect for crackling?

If you’re in East Sussex and looking for succulent pork joints perfect for crackling – then order from Burts Butchers. We offer a Home Delivery Service that offers zero contact deliveries to provide our top-quality butchers meat to everyone.

With us you can get our restaurant standard produce such as Pork Loin, Steak, Diced Pork, Lamb, Chicken, Beef and much more. If you’d like to place an order with us click here. If you have any questions about our Home Delivery Service – please get in touch with us.