If you are a fan of pork crackling but struggle to get it as crispy as you might like it then, having tried various experiments, we have come up with a couple of key ways to get your pork crackling well, crackling rather than breaking your teeth with a dull crunch or worse still a chew.

The key to getting the skin to crackle is to have it as dry as possible before putting it in the own. This can be done in a number of ways but one way to give it a head start is to take the pork joint out of it’s wrapping the night before roasting  and leaving it open in the fridge overnight.

The next day pat the skin down with a paper towel to take any extra moisture off, score the skin with a very sharp knife (but don’t cut down into the flesh) and rub with sea salt. Then the joint is ready to go in the oven.

When first cooking, put the oven on to a high setting (240 degrees or so) and cook for 20 minutes at that setting before turning the oven down to 160 degrees. Whilst the oven is cooling take the joint out and rub with fat (we used left over chicken fat) and more salt. Return to the oven for cooking slowly (35 minutes per 500g). Leave the joint to rest for 15 minutes after cooking.