Thread: How do you guys do crackling

Cooked a pork belly the other night. Tasted great with the apple juice sprayed onto it.

But the crackling was average. I love the crackling that you get from the roast stores.

Any tips.

Originally Posted by Russian 22.

Cooked a pork belly the other night. Tasted great with the apple juice sprayed onto it.

But the crackling was average. I love the crackling that you get from the roast stores.

Any tips.

Got a heat gun? Mine does perfect crackling.

I Dry the skin, salt and oil it. Preheat oven (important) to 220 and chuck it in until most of the skin is crackly, usually takes about 20-30 mins. Then turn it down to 160 for 30 mins per 500 grams, then turn it up to 220 again for the last 10 mins, comes out perfect every time.

Originally Posted by Russian 22.

Cooked a pork belly the other night. Tasted great with the apple juice sprayed onto it.

But the crackling was average. I love the crackling that you get from the roast stores.

Any tips.

I do what my granny showed me, get a really sharp knife and poke heaps of little holes, then score as desired, either straight or diamond pattern or just heaps of little holes, put salt an even layer of salt on a plate or tray depending on size of the belly, then lay the belly skin to salt and put in the fridge for at least 8 hours. Ideally overnight.


Take it out the next day, lift off the salt, but rub the remaining salt into it, then high heat for about 45 mins to one hour, I do 220 with no fan as the fan tends to heat it unevenly. Just keep and eye until its evenly blistered.

Then ill do 140-150 for about 3 hours if its about 1kg.

Lay it on some length ways halved carrots, rough chopped onion, and celery or something in the baking tray before cooking and a little bit of water, maybe a cup to create steam.

I find pork belly with the bone in is better, slightly longer cooking, and free ribs.

First in best dressed or pistols at dawn if you steal mine

But cooking it as above^

On a spit it’s harder to get right but is doable!

everyone does it different. I start it off on low and finish on high, but it’s pretty easy to blast it at the end till it’s good

Roast the pork as per norm, 10/15min off finished, rock salt the skin, put the grill on, crank the heat up to the hottest it will go, keep the door open/ajar on it's first open setting, this is important because, if you leave the door closed, the thermostat will switch on/off which shags around with the temp obviously.

I am a on high preheat turn it down when crackled guy but which ever method you choose the key to good crackeling is dehydrating the skin before heating, this is what all the scoring/hole poking/salting is trying to do.Dehydrate the skin.

Twice cooked pork belly is devine and has the advantage of drying/salting out the skin in the fridge overnight so all that is required the next day is enough time to crackle the well dehydrated skin and all the slow cooked meat/fat is moist and falls to bits.

Belly in a bag with chilli sauce (you pick it)5 spice or not, and soy sauce (salt to dry out). Leave for 12 - 24 hours.
Low and slow in the oven at 120c for 3-4 hours. Take it out and up the oven to 230 deg c. Back in and watch until you see the bubbling of greatness.

Originally Posted by kiwijames

Got a heat gun? Mine does perfect crackling.

So you just whack it on high until it looks like the roast shop? Will give it a go.

Originally Posted by PadLo

I do what my granny showed me, get a really sharp knife and poke heaps of little holes, then score as desired, either straight or diamond pattern or just heaps of little holes, put salt an even layer of salt on a plate or tray depending on size of the belly, then lay the belly skin to salt and put in the fridge for at least 8 hours. Ideally overnight.


Take it out the next day, lift off the salt, but rub the remaining salt into it, then high heat for about 45 mins to one hour, I do 220 with no fan as the fan tends to heat it unevenly. Just keep and eye until its evenly blistered.

Then ill do 140-150 for about 3 hours if its about 1kg.

Lay it on some length ways halved carrots, rough chopped onion, and celery or something in the baking tray before cooking and a little bit of water, maybe a cup to create steam.

I find pork belly with the bone in is better, slightly longer cooking, and free ribs.

Wow. Very detailed instructions. Sounds like the average sodium intake for a week!

Originally Posted by MSL

everyone does it different. I start it off on low and finish on high, but it’s pretty easy to blast it at the end till it’s good

That's the stuff!

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

I am a on high preheat turn it down when crackled guy but which ever method you choose the key to good crackeling is dehydrating the skin before heating, this is what all the scoring/hole poking/salting is trying to do.Dehydrate the skin.

Twice cooked pork belly is devine and has the advantage of drying/salting out the skin in the fridge overnight so all that is required the next day is enough time to crackle the well dehydrated skin and all the slow cooked meat/fat is moist and falls to bits.

Yeah I think I will try just slow cooking the meat and cutting the rind off to blast it

Originally Posted by Russian 22.

So you just whack it on high until it looks like the roast shop? Will give it a go.



Wow. Very detailed instructions. Sounds like the average sodium intake for a week!




That's the stuff!



Yeah I think I will try just slow cooking the meat and cutting the rind off to blast it

No dont take it off, thats the whole Idea of the twice cooked is there is no need. You get the melt in mouth meat and the crackeling in one.

I do it in the Webber. Get a oven pan, put a layer of coarse salt about 12 mm deep in the bottom, put yr belly in, skin up and completely cover in coarse salt about 12 mm thick. I cook with a temp probe to whatever temp the book tells me, when cooked, brush off all the salt and indulge. Try tiger prawns the same way, encasing and cooking in salt is good for your arteries as well!!