Last year around this time, I was getting super excited, not so much about the holiday (well, I kind of was), but I was extremely excited for what I was going to prepare for the family. I was getting excited to make porchetta; a slab of pork that is coated in herbs and garlic, lined with pancetta, rolled, and slow roasted until crispy on the exterior and cooked through in the interior. It is a thing of beauty, and so much that my in-laws had requested I make it again this year! As much as that excited me, I am deciding to create something new for the menu this year, but maybe I am somewhat disappointed as that porchetta left us with a lot of great leftovers including a pulled porchetta sandwich, as well as a porchetta slab with broccoli rabe. As they were both great uses for leftovers, there is one that also shined, and that was the porchetta cracklings.
After vacuum sealing the leftovers, some of the exterior, that was once crispy, gets a bit more tender and soft, and upon opening a package, I decided to strip the meat and make sandwiches, and leave the fatty skin and some of the meat to make a nice snack. A perfect snack for having a cold beer.
I think I was first introduced to real cracklings via the Filipino’s in the family, and when I first experienced it, I was sold. A crispy, porky exterior, with a bit of meat. Yes, I was sold. I’ll admit though, these porchetta cracklings are better as the flavor was already filled throughout from using all of the garlic and herbs. Enough said, let’s get started.
Ingredients:
- Â 2 cups of cooked porchetta, skin and 1/4 meat intact
- 1/2 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
- rimmed baking sheet lined with a wire rack
If you have not cooked porchetta, you can try using pork belly, marinating it overnight in garlic, thyme, and rosemary.
Preheat your oven to 245 degrees.
Add the porchetta skin to the lined baking sheet.
Place this in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the skin is nice and crispy, not burnt.
Remove from the oven, plate, and shower with the chopped rosemary.