Pork Crackling on the Kamado

  • How do I get a great pork crackling on the Kamado?

    This can be a vexing problem especially if you enjoyed the great results you can get from a Weber Kettle or from your local chinese bbq shop/butcher.

    You can find many stories of soggy, lifeless pork roasts. A problem with a cooker which has great moisture attributes, it makes it hard to "dry cook" if you need to if you don't know the tricks. How do people do it?

    How important is the cut of meat or where it is purchased? Do you need to blanch and salt?

    Why do some people use a blow torch or looftlighter?

    Is it better to cut off the rind and do it separately?

    How is it done?

    Edited 2 times, last by 12x7 (January 10, 2016 at 11:51 AM).

  • A few years back I came across this innovative technique by Urban Griller. Excepts follows. For more detail have a look at UG's site and how he did it on the Traeger. http://urbangriller.com.au/pork-crackle-in-a-pellet-grill/

    If you like to low and slow pulled pork with the rind removed this is an excellent way to enjoy pulled pork and crispy pork cracking.

    UG extract:

    I've put a small cast iron pot in the Kamado and leant the Pork Belly against it, facing the fire. The idea is to keep the score lines in the pork skin vertical so the fat runs off and does not pool on the skin and make it soggy.

    The other thing to watch is the vents, I’m running 220°C (425°F) in the Kamado, I’ve got the top vent open almost fully open, this is to let the moisture out of the Kamado. The bottom vent is roughly 5cm (2inches) open, so more air leaving the Kamado than coming in, this speeds up the intake and provides a clean hot burn.

    Traeger example

  • You can cook the leg or shoulder direct over the coals. This can result in a drier heat which can result in more crackle. If there isn't enough crackle you can turn the roast upside down to heat the rind direct at the end of the cook. You can also remove the rind and crackle it up over the coals.

  • Use the Looftlighter, paint stripper or butane gas torch for crackling.

    After a low and slow, or fast cook and the rind is soft, if you have the rind still on and you want to crackle it up here's how you can.

    Depending on what you are using eg electric paint stripper may vary the technique such as how close you put the tool near the rind and how fast you move your hand left and right to crackle.

    Start away from the rind, eg 10 cm and move the stripper left and right near the edge. Not too close as you will blacken/charcoal the rind. As this starts to bubble and rise move to another area you want to crackle up. Be careful not to make too much fat oil as it will soften the rind again. You are after crackling the skin, not melting the fat.

    It can take some experimenting to get it right and how thick the rind and fat layer can make a difference on the technique you use.

    Whilst this is in the Kamado section you can use this technique with other cookers.

  • How can I get Weber kettle crackling on the Kamado?

    I hear murmurs that nothing can beat Weber Kettle crackling!

    Try this.

    Generally I like to make two type of crackling. One of the bubbly fluffy type and the other is the thin crunchy toffee strip type. The bubbly fluffy type you need a decent fat layer under the rind. The toffee strip requires less fat under the rind. Regardless of the type you need a decent shoulder or leg of pork with nice white skin. I have used the following technique from pork from various sources and when people say they can't get crackling on their kettle or kamado, try another butcher as it can make the world of difference.

    Do I need to salt, rub, blanch, oil etc? Try it. I have made great crackling with no salt, blanching etc. Just took it straight from the fridge and put it on the grill.

    This is for a piece of pork between 2-3kg including the bone.

    • I normally have a pretty full firebox of charcoal I have used from previous cooks. I make a small ten centimetre hole in the centre and put in some fast burn charcoal and some left over paper towels I have been using the clean the Kamado in with it. The idea here is that the fast burn charcoal with the oily paper towels burns a hot hole in the centre of the charcoal to let the air flow through and the previous burn charcoal which is harder to catch alight act as a temp dampener. The previous burnt charcoal burns nice and clean.
    • So light up the charcoal in the centre with the looftlighter. The paper towels will ignite making a nice fire accelerator.
    • Open all vents wide open
    • When the temp get up to 100C there should be the start of the air tunnel.
    • Put in the pork in the centre of the grill
    • The idea here is that the air is pretty hot and will scorch and dry the rind. The big pain with the kamado is that it cooks with so much moisture which makes making crackling tricky as you need dry air.
    • Around 150C close the bottom vent down quite a bit, but let lots of air come out the top vent to keep sucking the air past the rind and suck out the oily spray that can occur so it does not fall back on the rind and make it wet and soggy.
    • At around 220C it is time to get the Kamado back to 170C.
    • I add large potatoes and sweet potatoes unfoiled around the pork. About 4 potatoes, a piece of pumpkin and a sweet potato is what I use. This does two things. 1) When you open the lid you let some cool air in, but secondly the cool mass cools the air temp. 2) The unfoiled potatoes etc catch the flying fat and help stop it getting back on the rind.
    • Close the lid, adjust the top and lower vents to drop the temp quickly to 170C
    • When you get to 170C add more bias to the top vent so it is more open than the lower to keep the temp around 160-170C. Don't get it too much hotter as you start to boil the fat under the rind and make it all wet again.
    • Cook until you get the target meat temp you want.
    • Take out.
    • Rest for 20 min
    • Slice and serve. Gravy and cranberry sauce. Yum!
    • Enjoy!

    ps. Try the vegies trick on the weber kettle. I like putting the sweet potato in the drip tray as well to catch the juices. By the end of the cook the sweet potato meet is so soft and flavoursome.

    Edited 2 times, last by 12x7 (February 28, 2016 at 6:35 PM).

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