Anyone have any tips or recipes for making cracklins/grattons?

[Guest]

I have 7 pounds of pork belly curing in the fridge right now. 5 pounds I have curing in a mixture of pink nitrite salt, kosher salt, pepper, sugar, brown sugar, molasses, garlic, etc. The other 2 pounds I added some Ragin Blaze and crushed red pepper to the mixture to spice things up a bit. Now I have a good 1-1.5 pounds of skin with some fat and a little meat I need to do something with. Came across a recipe for cracklins online but wanted to see if any of my TBH friends have some suggestions or recipes they would like to post.

[czechgrubworm]

Following..

[RaginCagin]

Fairly simple. You will need a Large cast iron pot, the deeper the better. Start off with hog lard or cooking oil in the bottom over a low heat. You will need a long spoon or paddle and stir slow and constantly. After a while the fat will start to melt away and the cracklins will begin to float, not long after this they will start to blister. Once they have all blistered pull them out and let cool. Turn your fire up and get the grease real hot. Place the cracklins back in for about 30 seconds and they will do what we call Pop and get the good crust on them. Pull them out and season immediately. It is a long process but you can't rush it and allow them to burn.

[Cleveland]

Fairly simple. You will need a Large cast iron pot, the deeper the better. Start off with hog lard or cooking oil in the bottom over a low heat. You will need a long spoon or paddle and stir slow and constantly. After a while the fat will start to melt away and the cracklins will begin to float, not long after this they will start to blister. Once they have all blistered pull them out and let cool. Turn your fire up and get the grease real hot. Place the cracklins back in for about 30 seconds and they will do what we call Pop and get the good crust on them. Pull them out and season immediately. It is a long process but you can't rush it and allow them to burn.

Thanks alot Ragin Cagin! I will give this method a shot on Saturday. Any suggestions on seasonings?

[RaginCagin]

Thanks alot Ragin Cagin! I will give this method a shot on Saturday. Any suggestions on seasonings?

It's really a preference thing. Sometimes I just use salt and a little red pepper and sometimes ill use a Cajun seasoning. My favorite is Targils red rub bc it is ground fine and melts into the hot cracklins but not sure if it's available in TX.

[b.latiolais]

Just curious how these turned out?

[Cajun Blake]

Josh is spot on as that's how you do it

I usually cook cracklins over 2 days since I fix 75 lbs of pork bellies . Cut into 1.5 x 1.5 inch squares

When they blister , remove and let cool. I place mine in fridge for on paper towels and inside cardboard box like used for a case of soft drinks.

Next day heat grease real hot and drop til they pop

I add equal 1/3's of RB , brown sugar and elite seafood boil to season cracklins

[Cleveland]

Just curious how these turned out?

I got caught up last weekend smoking some ribs and a brisket for my mom's mothers day dinner. Her only request was that she didn't have to cook that day. I didnt get a chance to test out RaginCajun's method last weekend but I plan to test it out this weekend. I'll be sure to take some pics and post them as well.

[Cleveland]

Josh is spot on as that's how you do it

I usually cook cracklins over 2 days since I fix 75 lbs of pork bellies . Cut into 1.5 x 1.5 inch squares

When they blister , remove and let cool. I place mine in fridge for on paper towels and inside cardboard box like used for a case of soft drinks.

Next day heat grease real hot and drop til they pop

I add equal 1/3's of RB , brown sugar and elite seafood boil to season cracklins

Thank you for the tip Cajun Blake! I will be using your seasoning suggestion for sure. I will also be placing another order for some more RB, Chili mix, fajita mix and elite seafood boil today. Can't get enough of that RB seasoning and the fajita mix was killer as well. Have yet to try the Chili Mix but will be doing so in the near future.

[ankle-deep]

Fairly simple. You will need a Large cast iron pot, the deeper the better. Start off with hog lard or cooking oil in the bottom over a low heat. You will need a long spoon or paddle and stir slow and constantly. After a while the fat will start to melt away and the cracklins will begin to float, not long after this they will start to blister. Once they have all blistered pull them out and let cool. Turn your fire up and get the grease real hot. Place the cracklins back in for about 30 seconds and they will do what we call Pop and get the good crust on them. Pull them out and season immediately. It is a long process but you can't rush it and allow them to burn.

Yep, Exactly how we do it

[dbaio1]

Josh is spot on as that's how you do it

I usually cook cracklins over 2 days since I fix 75 lbs of pork bellies . Cut into 1.5 x 1.5 inch squares

When they blister , remove and let cool. I place mine in fridge for on paper towels and inside cardboard box like used for a case of soft drinks.

Next day heat grease real hot and drop til they pop

I add equal 1/3's of RB , brown sugar and elite seafood boil to season cracklins

Now that there sounds like it would be good on more things than just cracklins. I got some experimenting to do

[Cleveland]

Sorry for the late posting of pics. Here is a pic of the cracklins still cooking in the oil after about an hour.

[Cleveland]

I started to see white blisters begin to form on the skin after about 1.5-2 hours. I removed them from the oil and placed them on a plate covered with paper towels. I think I should have left them in the oil to blister some more. What do yall think? When the skins cooled down the blisters started to disappear a bit.

[Cleveland]

Turned the heat up on the stove and got it going real hot. Dropped the cracklins back into the oil and let them fry and pop for about 3-4 minutes to get the desired color that I had been seeing in some pics on cooking sites. I removed them from the pot, placed them in a bowl lined with paper towels and seasoned with sea salt, RB and Cajun seasonings. Did I needed to let them cook and blister longer originally? The came out tasting ok but they were a little rubbery. I think I might try to salvage them tonight and place them in the oven to crisp up for a few minutes at 400 degrees or so.

[Cajun Blake]

I started to see white blisters begin to form on the skin after about 1.5-2 hours. I removed them from the oil and placed them on a plate covered with paper towels. I think I should have left them in the oil to blister some more. What do yall think? When the skins cooled down the blisters started to disappear a bit.

from my observation several things come to mind

1. your meat looks like 1/4" thin sliced ham, or skin ... how thick is it ? It should be 1.25" ~ 1.5" square cube. The size of a large marshmallow is ideal

2. how hot was your lard (grease) ? Not sure it ever got hot enough ... 300 - 310 degrees is ideal. Use a turkey frying thermometer to constantly monitor oil and regulate temp.

3. IIRC, you marinated the meat for a week ? prior to making cracklins. Sounds good in theory but I think the marinade broke down the meat tissues and was not conducive to making cracklins or allowing them to fry properly.

4. Cracklins usually take up to 2-3 hrs when making large batches of 30-50 lbs in a 20 gallon pot. Small amounts shouldn't take that long



my suggestions..... cut larger size portions of pork belly. Start with small batch until you can perfect it. Constantly stir and keep temps under 310*. People who know cracklins will pinch or squeeze them with fingers while cooking to determine when done. Remove after blistering , let cool, and place in cold refrigerator over night. Next day , heat oil to 380* , add cold cracklins which will cause them to "pop". Shouldn't take long , do NOT let oil get over 400 degrees

be careful, many a kitchens have burned down due to cooking cracklins