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Cracklings are pieces of pork fat fried until they are crunchy and crisp.

They are usually made from salt pork or fatback with the skin on.

They are used as both an ingredient in dishes, and as a garnish, to add both flavour and texture. They can be sprinkled on braised collard greens, crumbled into the batter for corn bread, or just eaten by themselves as a snack.

Corn bread with cracklings in it is called "cracklin bread."

In Provence, France, a bread called "Fougasse aux gratillons" is made with pork cracklings.

Cooking Tips
Wash the pork fat and pat dry. Trim the fat to be 1/3 inch (3/4 cm) thick, and score without going all the way through.

Rub salt into the fat, let stand for an hour, and pat dry again to sop up excess moisture that the salt has drawn out.

Cut into strips, following the scores you made, and put in a baking dish. Pour some water into the dish, taking care not to get any water on the top of the strips.

Bake in oven at 450 F (230 C) until golden-brown and crisp -- this should take around 1/2 hour.

You can make them ahead, and then reheat for 10 minutes before serving.

Language Notes
In the American south, referred to as "cracklins."

Also called:

See Also:

Fougasse, Oreilles de Crisse, Pork Crackling

Other entries for:

Pork Rinds
Chicharrón, Cracklings

Other entries for: Pork

Bacon, Barrow Hog, Berkshire Pigs, Butcher Hog, Casertano Pigs, Crown Roast, Fore Hock, Fresh Ham, Gilt Hog, Ground Pork, Ham, Hog Jowl, Iberian Pigs, Kurobuta Pork, Lard, Mortadella, Oreilles de Crisse, Pickled Pork, Pig's Feet, Pork Belly, Pork Brawn, Pork Chops, Pork Crackling, Pork Cubes, Pork Cuts Illustrated -- British, Pork Hocks, Pork Leg, Pork Loin, Pork Ribs, Pork Rinds, Pork Shoulder, Pork Souse, Pork, Prime Collar, Salt Meat, Sow, Spare Ribs, Stag Hog, Streak of Lean, Tasso, Ventrèche, Zampino

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Meat
Affettati, Beef, Buffalo, Cap On / Cap Off, Game, Goat, Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications, Minced Meat, Offal, Paillards, Potted Meats, Poultry, Roasts, Sausages, Sheep, Steak, Veal, Venison, Yak