One of the most frequently asked questions we get is ‘How to get the Best Pork Crackle’; and yes there are some really good tips.
Our pork is generally sold in cryvac pouches – this means the oxygen has been removed from the packaging to give it a longer shelf life in the refrigerator. BUT remember pork & no oxygen don’t really agree – so the longer it is in the cryvac it gets a ‘pong’ (a slight odour). It’s not off – as we know we get our pork are processed weekly and storing it correctly; we also only have a Best Before of 14 days – so the pong isn’t too offensive.
So here are our ‘tips’
GET IT OUT OF THE PACKAGING
Dry the Pork with paper hand towel and discard all the packaging
WIPE DOWN WITH WHITE VINEGAR
White Vinegar helps dry out the skin – but it has a secondary purpose of removing the odour!
DRY THE SKIN
If you are prepared, place the Pork in the Fridge UNCOVERED overnight – the skin will dry out.
Otherwise if you don’t have time – the hand towel & white vinegar should be adequate and leave it for 30 minutes for the vinegar to do it’s job
RETURN TO ROOM TEMPERATURE
When you pre-heat your oven, remove the pork from the fridge and let it return to room temperature. Drizzle a little Olive Oil and rub with a good salt rub (some of popular salt rubs – which will be back in stock soon – Fennel & Dill blend!).
HOT OVEN
220C (to 240c) for the first 20-30 minutes
Return the oven to moderate 180c for the remainder (remember 45 minutes per kilogram of meat – unless you are slow roasting below 160c)
Once your Roast is cooked – let it REST for 15 minutes prior to carving. Observe the juice colour – it should be a little pink (not bloody)!
