Danish Crackling (Flaeskestej) Technique

If you are a Dane one of the big measuring sticks in the kitchen is how good is your Crackling on your pork roast. There are many different way to make it and just as many ways to screw it up! So I decided to demystify this procedure for you. My Farmor (grandmother on my Father’s side) used an old technique of starting off with the rind in the water and baking it for some minutes then pulling out and yadi yadi yada… I don’t bother. In my video I simply start with scoring the rind into slices across, rub the rind with Avocado ( or Canola ) oil and massage liberal amounts of coarse salt onto and into the rind. Don’t forget to let your roast come up to room temperature before and get rid of any moisture on the surface before you start. Very important. Your oven should be set for 425F. (218 C.) Place in middle rack with water on the bottom, on Roast. Roast for 15 minutes. Without opening door turn heat down to 350F. (175C.)

This is where you need to pay attention. Generally speaking it is advised that for every pound you have for the roast add 20 minutes. Personally I find that it will be over done. I pull my pork out when I have an internal temperature of 140F. ( 60 C. ) Let rest for at least 30 minutes and you should be over 145F. (63 C.) Once you have figured out total cooking time then you can estimate when the last 30 minutes are before pulling. This is when you turn it back up to 425F. (218 C.) From this point on you need to check on it through the window every several minutes. At a certain point you will start to see the fat “pop”. Once it starts it will go fairly quickly along the roast top. ( If you see one end starting to burn, take some tin foil and quickly place over just that part while the rest catches up. You will be able to visually see when it is all perfect. That is it! Here are the crucial steps.