Crackling

Herbie

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Husband bought a pack of pork rind for 30p the other day. There was one large piece and one small piece. I cooked the small piece with salt and oil at 200 degrees, but it turned out too dry. Any ideas to make nice crackling/scratchings?
 
I've only made crackling as a by product of a roast pork joint - when the joint is cooked (under foil), remove the skin, cut it up, place in a cast iron skillet put it in a hot oven until crispy. No additional fat or salt is required. The crackling will already be cooked (steamed under foil with the joint) before hand - I think this is the bit you are missing. Scratchings are on my "to-do" list. The pork rind is brined for 24 hours prior to cooking.

In summary, I would think that both crackling and scratchings need either brining, steaming or boiling prior to roasting. Hope this helps :)
 
Depending on which kind you want, see below. Don't know if you guys have Cheetos or not, but if you do, the first link is the crispy skinny Cheetos, the second link the puffy Cheetos.

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes...ood-danish-crispy-pork-cracklings-recipe.html

https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/pork-rinds-chicharron-2268911
This is a perfect description of the different ways to make cracklings. I always like the humor on the Serious Eats site, and this time is no exception:

Making crispy pork cracklings yourself actually isn't that difficult. You just need some pork rind cut into 1/5-inch slices, some salt, a hot oven, and your heart doctor on speed dial.
 
A few years ago I was tasked with cooking roast potatoes for the Christmas dinner to be served in the local pub. A cleverer man than I suggested buying a slab of pork fat from the market and rendering it down to produce the cooking fat. I did this in the oven and the unexpected by-product was the best pork cracklin' that I've had since my mum died.
 
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