Can I get good crackling on a leg of ham?
- Thread starter Kujiraya
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
do you mean that after curing and baking a pork shoulder (a ham as it's known) you intend to fry the peeled skin to make cracklins, then yes, certainly. i do it every easter just before i make pea soup with the leftover bone and meat.
i peel the ham, chop and render the under-the-skin fat to sweat the onions for the soup, then continue to fry the fat and skin for cracklins.
if you mean can you get a cracklin type skin on a baked ham as is, well l, then, the only way that i can think of is to deep fry the cured shoulder much like a deep fried turkey.
has anyone tried this?
kuj, you might be on to something.
or just mad. lol
i peel the ham, chop and render the under-the-skin fat to sweat the onions for the soup, then continue to fry the fat and skin for cracklins.
if you mean can you get a cracklin type skin on a baked ham as is, well l, then, the only way that i can think of is to deep fry the cured shoulder much like a deep fried turkey.
has anyone tried this?
kuj, you might be on to something.
or just mad. lol
Aunt Bea
Master Chef
In the United States it is almost impossible to find a commercial ham with a thick cap of fat that can be deeply scored and slow roasted to create a crispy crackling.
I would look for a small local butcher that might be able to provide a whole fresh ham or gammon.
I would look for a small local butcher that might be able to provide a whole fresh ham or gammon.
justplainbill
Executive Chef
Use fresh ham-
Discovering Fresh Ham Roast - Cooks Illustrated
Discovering Fresh Ham Roast - Cooks Illustrated
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
i don't know. it seems the cheaper the ham i buy, the fattier it is that then allows for crackins.
in one of my first recipes that i posted here, i mentioned renering the fat to sweat the veggies when making pea soup, then hiding the cracklins for the cook to enjoy later.
Last edited:
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
When I lived in Texas, one Easter I made (and the only time) a whole fresh ham leg. I made a mixture of pineapple juice, crushed pineapple and brown sugar. I scored it deeply, and pressed the mixture into the scores. Then placed cloves on it. I put it on 300ºF and cooked it very slow for about five hours. Then I turned it up to 400ºF. for about an hour. I was going for a pretty top. I knew nothing about cracklins. My neighbor came over to see how it was going. When she saw the skin, she told me she had dibs on ALL the skin. I thought she was crazy. But I was so wrong. When I told some other Texans about it, they thought I was crazy for not eating it myself. My neighbor did get all the skin. She invited herself to dinner to make sure. The skin was really crunchy crispy. And she was so happy. I think that is the only part of the dinner she ate. What she couldn't finish she took home. Cracklins still have no appeal to me. 
