The South Marysburgh Mirror Pork Crackling that Really Crackles By Dave Larkin We seem to get really good pork in The County, and often at a reasonable price. It is obvi- ously popular with County folk as the turnout for the Pork and Corn Roast, at St Philip's, demon- strates. Of course we have Harley Guernsey there with his portable BBQ/rotisserie and that helps to make it a memorable occasion. And there is local corn and | would be remiss if | didn't mention the sterling efforts in the kitchen of Diane Walker, Sally Cowan and the ladies of the ACW. But what to do when Harley isn't to hand? | have heard people say that Pork is great because you can't overcook it. | beg to differ - if you want to be able to get the full taste, you must not over- cook it, but still you need to use a meat thermome- ter to see that it is cooked enough. But only enough. In North America, cooks tend not to take their pork crackling seriously, and the butchers aren't much help. However you can get a good roast of pork at Metro if you check the Picnic roasts, which have rind on them, or buy your pork from a local farm. My son has promised me a roast of pork loin from a local farmer he knows, complete with rind, but promises, promises, promises....... Two nations do take their pork crackling really seriously: the Brits and the Danes. There are a zillion recipés for pork crackling, all different and all purporting to be the best way. Most of them work, despite the contradictions. But | usually favour a Danish recipé which has proved reliable. Get yourself a roast which still has some skin (rind) on it. Score the rind (I use a box-cutter knife with a fresh blade) deep into the fat. The score lines should be about 1/4 inch apart. Rub coarse salt into the rind, and, for flavouring insert some bay leaves or fennel seeds. The roast is put on the rack in the roasting pan and placed in a very hot oven (480°F). Check after 30 minutes. The rind should be starting to bubble. If not continue for a few more minutes until the bubbling starts. Then pour a quart of boil- ing water into the pan (without touching the meat) and continue cooking at 340°F. meme ee uly Pe any CEU anette ie Marjorie Harris Saturday, July 21 1 a.m. Regent Theatre Pieton Tichate 5:10 al ihe Reyert Theatre Box Office ‘Serlening ie imniat for The Clobe gad fai. 966: Editsr vi Garde co IroqueriL vorlritulor ar CBS rai swnard Countyl artes i caring to P suanicde eaves wild aie Sem SiLesycncirgess atthe wall Fes 3 change te © acy lunch with varlerle tcl ow na, =O= 7] Ws bet balk! Allow 40 to 50 minutes per |b, but check with a meat thermometer (180°F). If the water boils away (it usually doesn't) add more. When ready, remove from the oven. Slice the crackling off when still warm and place in an uncovered dish. It must never be put in the fridge. Allow the roast to rest for 20-30 minutes. Reduce the liquid in the pan to make gravy. {if you are visiting the UK, bring back some Knorr pork stock cubes to add). This method will give you a moist, flavour- ful roast of pork with real crackling. If the crack- ling isn't crisp enough it can be made more crisp by putting it under the grill. But this is risky, stay by the oven and watch it like a hawk — it is very easy to burn. It will only take a very few minutes to crisp.