Snap, Crackle and Pop

Hey there fellow blog readers!

So we’ve decided to start blogging on the website as we feel like sharing many of our thoughts and ideas with our loyal customers and friends. We want this area to become a repository of useful info, and maybe a little humour along the way too :-)

One of the questions that we’re always being asked about and a great start to the blog is how do you make the perfect crackling?

Crackling for me brings fond memories of Mum’s sunday roast growing up and I always find it difficult to turn down a piece. I think it’s the same for our customers too, as nothing makes me smile more than serving on a job and watching someone ponder an answer when I ask would you like crackling with that? The head says no its fat, but the heart (and belly) says YES! It’s the ultimate in comfort food, you know you shouldn’t but you can’t refuse

Cracking on (no pun intended) – The most important thing to remember when making crackling is scoring the skin; don’t score it and the heat will struggle to penetrate the rind and you won’t get that lovely crackled look on the hog roast. But here’s the first tip, don’t score so deep as to cut through to the meat – if you do, you’ll just lose the juices! Big mistake!

You also need to make sure that the pig (or joint) has a good layer of fat underneath the skin so that when it melts it will baste the skin. Obviously here at the Gourmet Hog Roast Company we only use Free Range Pigs ensuring that the quality is top notch!

Removing the moisture from the skin is also an important step in attaining hog roast crackling nirvana. This can be achieved in different ways and is down to personal preference. Some people (when cooking joints) will leave the meat uncovered in the fridge to dry it out, while others cover the skin in salt to suck the moisture out. Me personally, I like to do both as I have an unhealthy love of salt!

Hope you enjoyed the ramblings and get in contact if you have any questions.