May-June 2016

ROUSES

EVERYDAY

maY | JUNE 2016

e’re making cracklin’s here,

gratons to be exact, so you’re

going to need about two

pounds of boneless pork belly with the fat

and meat and skin on, cut into cubes.

Let me be clear, you need to do this

OUTSIDE, preferably in the yard away

from anything that could catch fire. There

is a great risk of fire and grease burns with

this process, so get out your deep and large

black-iron pot.

I start with two pounds of lard. Not Crisco,

not peanut oil ... lard. This amount is good

for my pot; it may not be for yours, so adjust

as needed.

Here we go ...

Light the fire to medium heat. Put the lard

and one cup of water in the pot. When the

grease gets to about 200 degrees add the

pork belly. Get the lard up to about 250

degrees and try to keep it there.This will be

hot enough to render the fat but not burn

the oil. (I found that the lower temperature

also keeps sticking to a minimum.) Stir

every five minutes or so.

The water is going to cook off first, but

you’ll need to keep cooking until the

bubbles almost stop; this could take up to

two hours. You’ll notice that the more you

cook them the hotter the grease will get.Try

to keep the grease below 325 degrees until

they are done.

When the bubbles are gone, use a slotted

metal strainer to transfer the cracklin’s from

the pot to a piece of newspaper lined with

paper towels. Shake them around a little so

they don’t stick. Place in the refrigerator to

cool for at least 3 hours.

Now’s the fun part ... you’re going to

fry the cracklin’s again to make the skin

pop. The fireman in me feels obliged to

remind you need that you need to have a

fire extinguisher on hand whenever you’re

frying outdoors.

Heat the lard back up to about 380 to 400

degrees. (A trick I learned from a good ole

Cajun boy like myself is to throw a match

in the lard — it will ignite at around 400

degrees). Once the lard is up to temperature,

return the cold cracklin’s to the pot.The skin

is going to pop and blister — this softens it

so it chews easier. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes,

stirring and stirring the whole time.

Transfer the cracklin’s to clean newspaper

lined with paper towels. You want to move

the pan around briskly to absorb the liquid

lard. Lightly season with a mix of cayenne

pepper, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder

and Rouses salt and pepper. Let cool to

room temperature before eating.

“The correct definition of “cracklin’” is a source of debate, depending on geography

and personal taste. The termsometimes refers to pork rinds, which are simply pieces

of skin that puff into curls when dropped into hot lard. Other times — and most

of the time in Louisiana — the term cracklin’ applies to gratons, which constitute

layers of back fat and meat as well as skin. Gratons, which are usually fried twice,

are bigger and meatier than pork rinds. Lardons, which sometimes come from the

back fat and sometimes from the belly, are meatier still.”

—Sara Roahen

P raise

the

Lard

Chef Nathan Richard +

photo by

Romney Caruso

the

Pork

issue