Pork (and fat in general) has had a bad reputation.
Saturated fat, cholesterol, blah blah blah --- the demonisation of this
delicious meat has gone on forever and this has got to change.
O well, a few stuff I’ve read indicate that dietary fat does
not directly affect the levels in your blood. I’m not going to bore
you with science bits but what I am trying to say is that pork is delish and
not as bad as what it’s been purported to be.
This pork popcorn recipe was lifted from a Gordon Ramsay
recipe. The skin is cooked in two stages and is fool-proof. You can
use long strips of skin or, like me, some irregular diamond cuts as Waitrose
already sells their pork scored!
What you only need is pork skin and salt. If this is
not available, take a slab of belly, slice the skin off, maybe around half a
centimetre thick. You can use the remaining belly for other recipe.
Stage 1:
- Generously salt both sides of the skin and wrap in paper towel and keep in the fridge for a day or two. The more dehydrated the skin becomes, the better.
- When ready, slice the belly however you want it.
- Heat a pan of oil over medium fire. Ramsay suggests 120C. I just waited about 5 minutes ;)
- Cook the skin in the oil in batches for 8-10 minutes. Do no overcrowd. If the temperature is fine, the skin should not blister.
Take out and drain.
Stage 2:
- Turn the fire to high (or 190C).
- Fry the pieces again for 2 to 3 minutes. This time they will blister.
Take out and drain.
Season and enjoy!
Word of caution: Hot oil is really HOT! Careful not to burn
yourself.
Yum! In Spain, we call these "chicharrones" and one can buy them at the local market. They are sooo delicious! And growing up, we'd eat them all the time, but everyone would always say they were unhealthy and fattening! ;) I've never made them at home... so this is something to try. Thank you for your post.
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