How to Get Perfect Crackling When Spit Roasting Pork

How To Get Perfect Pork Crackling Every Time

Here are some tips on how to get perfect pork crackling. Generally, it's a two-day process to do it properly and making it easy it takes time to achieve perfect crackling.

The first thing you need to do is score the pork belly by pin-pricking only the skin. Make sure you do not go too deep. You can either use a sharp knife or a Jaccard Meat Tenderiser, which has 40+ spikes to make small incisions simultaneously. This is by far the best and easiest way to pierce the pork skin. After that, rub the meat with salt (Kosher salt works best) and leave it in the fridge overnight for all that moisture to come to the surface. The best way to do this is to place your pork belly in a tray, skin side up and try to raise it off the base of your tray by using a wire rack or something similar. This lets the air circulate all around.

Another technique to get the perfect pork crackling is after you have prick your pork skin, wipe it down with white vinegar before you apply the salt and let it rest uncovered in the fridge.

Please note that we are only applying salt to the skin side, not the meat side.

The next day, before you put it on the charcoal spit, make sure you wipe down the pork with a paper towel to wipe off any excess moisture, then add more salt to the outside skin and season all other parts with your favourite rub.

When your meat is finally on the spit, I find it best to apply high heat right from the start by dropping the meat really low and keeping it close to the lump charcoal. When you are happy with the crackling, you can raise it up high and let the spit roasting begin.

The process of getting the perfect pork crackling we mentioned above works for all cuts of pork and even whole pigs. If you are cooking in an oven and not on a spit, the same technique applies: crank your oven up high, pop your meat in the oven, then drop the temperature to a roasting temperature when you are happy with your crackling.

For more information, check out our blog on How to Spit Roast a Pork Belly

Want to learn all things spit roasting? Check out our Spit Roasting Masterclass to learn everything from lighting your charcoal, prepping your meat, cook times and 15 different cooks from start to finish.