Pork Roast with Crispy Pork Crackling

Name: Pork Roast with Crispy Pork Crackling
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 3 h 20 min
Total time: 3 h 35 min
Yield: 10 - 12
Ingredients: 3 kg/ 6 lb pork shoulder; 3 tsp kosher salt; 1 1/4 tsp black pepper; 2 tsp fennel seeds; 1 tbsp+ 1 tsp olive oil; 1 garlic; 2 onion; 2 cups dry white wine; 1/4 cup flour; 2 cups chicken broth; salt; black pepper

User Reviews

5

544 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
3 hrs 20 mins
Total Time
3 hrs 35 mins
Servings
10 - 12
Calories
746 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
American

Pork Roast with Crispy Pork Crackling

Kai Walton

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This Pork Roast with Crispy Pork Crackling uses a boneless, skin-on pork shoulder prepared without scoring the skin to achieve an even, bubbly crackling. The pork is seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, and fennel seeds, placed on a bed of halved garlic and onions, and slow roasted. The high initial heat crisps the skin, while the long, slow cooking tenderizes the meat. The pan juices are used for a rich gravy, enhanced if desired with soy sauce for color and seasoning. This method creates a roast with tender meat and crackling that is crispy all over.

Description

The Pork Roast with Crispy Pork Crackling centers on a flat, boneless pork shoulder with skin intact and unscored, which aids in producing flat and evenly crispy crackling. The pork flesh is rubbed with kosher salt, black pepper, fennel seeds, and olive oil, while the skin is separately oiled and heavily salted to promote a bubbly crackling texture. The roast is placed skin-side up on garlic and onion halves nestled in a roasting pan with white wine or cider poured around but not on the skin.

The roasting begins at a high temperature to set the crackling, then the oven is lowered for a slow roast lasting over two hours, allowing the meat to become tender while keeping the crackling crisp. After roasting, the pan juices are thickened with flour and chicken broth into a flavorful gravy. This approach avoids common issues with uneven crackling caused by scored or netted pork and yields a flavorful, juicy roast with crackling crispness.

The roast is best served freshly cooked, and leftovers should be stored by separating the crackling from the meat. The crackling can be reheated in the oven to restore crispness, while the meat reheats in the microwave. If making gravy, darker soy sauce can be added to deepen its color without altering the flavor noticeably.

Choosing the right pork shoulder size and shape is important for the best crackling. The recipe provides timing adjustments for different weights and recommends removing any netting to keep the skin flat. It also suggests drying the skin in the fridge uncovered if possible before roasting to help dryness and crackling quality.

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Ingredients

Servings

3 kg/ 6 lb pork shoulder unrolled / netting removed (Note 1 & 6, boneless, skin on, not scored
3 tsp kosher salt NOT salt flakes or table salt, Note 7, cooking salt
1 1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp fennel seeds (or other herb/spice of choice)
1 tbsp+ 1 tsp olive oil
1 garlic halved horizontally, bulb
2 onion halved (brown, white, red
2 cups dry white wine Note 2, or alcoholic or non-alcoholic cider

Gravy:

1/4 cup flour (Note 5)
2 cups chicken broth low sodium, or chicken stock
salt
black pepper

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Instructions

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Dry skin: Pat the skin dry with paper towels. If time permits, leave in the fridge uncovered overnight (even 1 hr helps). If not, pat extra well.
Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan).
Season flesh: Sprinkle pork flesh with 1 1/2 tsp salt, all the pepper and all fennel seeds and 1 tbsp olive oil. Rub into flesh, right into all the crevices and cracks.
Salt skin: Flip pork, drizzle skin with 1 tsp oil, then rub all over with fingers. Sprinkle all over with remaining 1 1/2 tsp salt, taking care to get even coverage. Un-salted patches will not become bubbly crackling, it will be a hard flat sheet.
Garlic & onion bed: Place halved garlic bulbs and onion in roasting pan. Place pork skin side up on top of them.
Wine: Carefully pour wine into the pan, being sure not to wet the skin. Transfer to oven.
Lower oven: Immediately turn oven down to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan).
Slow roast: Roast for 2 1/2 hours.
Level at 1 1/2 hours: Check pork after 1 1/2 hours to see if the pork is warped and the skin's overall surface is significantly unlevelled. If so, adjust to make the skin surface as level as possible using balls of foil and moving large dislodged pork pieces to the side (key tip for crispy crackling, Note 3). Then return to oven for the remaining 1 hour.
Check pan & salt on skin: If pan is drying out, add some water. If there are bald patches on the skin without salt (eg it fell off), spray lightly with oil spray (or brush lightly with oil) then sprinkle with salt. (Remember, salt = bubbly skin!)
Increase heat: Turn oven up to 250°C/485°F (all oven types), or as high as it will go if your oven won't go this high.
Make skin crisp: Return pork to oven for 30 minutes, rotating pan as needed, until skin is crisp and bubbly all over. If needed, use foil patches, secured with water soaked toothpicks, to cover parts that are done and keep crisping up remaining patches.
Rest: Transfer pork to serving platter, tent loosely with foil (don't worry, crackling stays super-crisp) and rest for 20 minutes (stays warm up to 1 hour). Then slice using a serrated knife.
Serve with gravy. Don't pour gravy over crackling - pour it off to the side! See note for reheating.

Gravy:

Transfer fat to saucepan: Skim off 3 tablespoons of fat from the roasting pan and put in a saucepan.
Strain pan juices: Place strainer over bowl and scrape in all the remaining pan juices (including onion and garlic). Press out juices, then discard onion & garlic. Skim off excess fat from surface and discard - no need to be exact here!
Gravy roux: Heat the saucepan with the fat over medium heat. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
Add liquids: Pour stock in while whisking so it's lump free. Then pour in strained pan juies.
Thicken: Simmer until thickened to syrup consistency - about 3 minutes - it will thicken more as it cools a little while serving. (Note 4 for colour tip)
Season: Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Pour into serving jug. Serve with pork.

Notes

Use flat, boneless pork shoulder with unscored skin for best crackling results; remove any netting to keep skin flat.
Pat skin dry thoroughly, ideally leaving it uncovered in the fridge overnight for a crisper crackling.
Separate crackling and meat before storing leftovers; reheat crackling in oven and meat in microwave for best texture.
Use dry white wine, cider, or apple juice in roasting pan; chicken broth can be used but dilute with water for gravy.
To darken gravy color, add a small amount of dark soy sauce without affecting flavor noticeably.
Adjust cooking times based on pork weight and thickness, with specific recommendations for various sizes.