Western Beef had an unbeatable bargain on pernil, the only thing was, you just had to buy two of them. I made one the traditional Puerto Rican way and now I’m going to make pulled pork with the other. I’m going to take off the skin before I put the shoulder on the grill. My question is: What can I do with the skin?
I sure don’t want to toss it but any time I’ve made pork skin it was attached to the shoulder. And my family fights over who’s going to get the prime pieces of crunchy skin. Any foodies out there know what to do with a slab of pork skin?
Is that your pernil recipe? If not, please share yours! Also, I wish I could find fresh bitter oranges - the bottled juice (Goya, anyway) has a preservative in it that I think I’m allergic to (the last time I tried using it, I started itching all over the place after I ate). I usually mix 3/4 orange juice and 1/4 lime juice, but am open to alternatives.
Pork crackling! It’s the British roasted version of chicharones
Dry your pig skin thoroughly on both sides. Score deeply on the skin side, into 1 inch squares. Rub with fine salt, then leave it on a roasting rack, uncovered in the fridge, for at least a day. Roast in a very hot oven for 15 min, then reduce to moderate for a further 30ish minutes, or until very very crisp and bubbly.
This is generally served as part of a roast dinner, along with the roast pork, veggies, gravy, etc., but it is also great as a very decadent snack.
Nope, not my recipe. I mix vinegar, oil, crushed garlic, oregano, cumin, one packet of Sazon, cracked pepper, adobo and my own recaito in a mixing bow. Dunno exactly how much of each. Until it’s right. Then I stab the pernil mercilessly. The more and deeper, the better. Use a spoon to put the paste-y mixture into all the holes and rub the outside of the meat with the rest.
The oven is set at 250 or 300. Tent foil over the beast and cook. When the temp reaches 140 or so, I take off the foil. Oh yeah, very important-- put in the oven skin side up. When the skin is hard and crunchy enough for my liking, I take it out the oven. Rest and eat. Yum!
Pork rinds (chiccharones). You have to dry the skin thoroughly, so cut it into strips about 1 1/2 inches long, put it on a roasting pan, and put it in the oven under the lowest heat possible for 24 hours. Toss into hot deep oil (med high heat) and it will fry up perfectly in seconds, floating to the surface. Fish out the pieces, dump into paper towels to dry off excess oil, and toss in a big bowl with salt, chili powder, and lime zest.
Decided to make chicarrones. The Puerto Rican style calls for boiling the skin with seasonings for 2 hours weighted down. Well, a 4 by 4 inch piece of skin stuck to the bottom of the pot and I didn’t notice, so it didn’t make it into the stove for drying (it’s still in the stove. 24 hours of drying it needs).
Well, why not make porky beans, I thought? I don’t have any bacon on hand but I do have bacon grease. Onions, garlic, peppers, molasses, brown sugar, mustard a dash of cinnamon and allspice and canned dark kidney beans.
