Cracklin' Chicharrones
Whether if you're Cajun or Latino, cracklin' or chicharrones, this dish will always be a favorite. A delicious piece of pork, fried in lard to a delicious finish.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork belly thick cut
- 2 medium onions
- 2 bay leafs
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1.5 tbsp salt
- 1.5 tbsp. black pepper
- water for boiling, see notes*
- salt see notes on extra salt**
- ⅔ cup lard for frying***
Instructions
- In a tall pot, add water to boil. Water should be enough to submerge pork. Turn on heat to medium or medium high. Bring to a boil, while adding your salt, black pepper, onions, and bay leaf. Mix well.
- While water comes to a boil, add your clean pork belly. You may cut the pork belly in half to fit in pot. Let boil until tender. Check occasionally for texture doneness. Add extra water if needed. You should be able to poke pork with a fork easily.
- Remove pork belly and place on a baking sheet, lined with paper towel. The pork needs to be dried out and cooled before frying. Add an extra paper towel over top so both sides dry.
- After, sprinkle more sea salt over all the pork. Don't be shy with the amount. After, place again on paper towel to dry more.
- Prepare for frying: Place pot on medium heat. Add lard to a tall, but not large pot. A wok surprisingly works.
- Add lard to pot and melt down completely.
- Add all of your pork piece, THEN RUN! SEE NOTES PLEASE ****
- Let fry for 5-10 ten minutes. Periodically, check if the meat starts to become golden brown, by flipping a few pieces. Turn pork oven to cook all sides evenly.
- Removed golden-fried pork from pot/frying pan onto a paper towel lined baking sheet to remove excess oil.
- Cool before consuming.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- *You'll need enough water to cover the pork while boiling completely, and for the pork to be tender before removing and drying. Adding extra water when needed is fine. Will not change final results.
- **After the pork has boiled to tender and dried completely with paper towels, sprinkle salt onto the pork, while to lays on a paper towel. Rub on all sides. Let sit until ready to cook.
- ***Lard is the best fat to fry the Cracklin' Chicharrones, however you may use your favorite frying oil of not available.
- ****Frying this dish is dangerous! Lol! I wish there was a better not-fryer method that was less of a hassle, but there isn't. Since there's no flour for this pork, there always seem to be a lingering water particle that creeps up. We've tried delaying frying, extra drying, with no improvements. Major splashing of oil always happens. A fryer will always be easier with a cover, but require a lot of fat for frying. As soon as you place your pork in the pot, stay at least 10 feet away from it, unless you have a splash protector. Check and flip pork piece occasionally.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!