The Most Perfect Pork Roast With Crackling to hit your DINNER table!
A weekend Pork roast is easy to cook with minimal steps, but to get a perfect, golden crackle makes it worth every minute waiting. The best cut is a boneless pork shoulder (or butt)… the end results are always tender and juicy on the inside, while a mouthwatering crackle cooks on the outside.
PORK ROAST
Crackling would have to be the most enjoyable part of a good piece of pork. That undeniable crispy, oily crunch filled with so much flavour is something we all look forward to after having a roast in the oven for hours. Especially as it fills your entire house with mouthwatering smells!
HOW TO COOK A PORK ROAST
These are some tips and tricks we’ve learned through the years roasting many (and failing at many) crackling roasts.
- Don’t attempt to roast your pack straight out of its plastic wrapping. A lot of moisture gets retained in the rind underneath all of that plastic (or paper). It’s important to remove your roast first and thoroughly pat dry with paper towel.
- If you have time, leave the pork in the refrigerator UNCOVERED for at least 1 hour. We find the best crackling happens when we leave ours overnight to completely dry out the rind.
- Score the rind at 1-inch intervals, being careful not to cut into the meat.
HOW DO I GET GOOD AT CRACKLING?
- Rub the rind with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and one tablespoon of COARSE SEA SALT (you can use more if you like your crackling on the salty side). Rub it in really well.
- Season the meat (underside of the pork) with 1 teaspoon salt and another 2 tablespoons olive oil.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO ROAST PORK?
To get that crackle you see in the images, we first blast it with high heat for 45-50 minutes. The crackle will bubble and crackle up in that time. The heat is then reduced to allow time to cook the meat underneath (about an hour depending on how well done you prefer your pork. We like ours at exactly one hour).
After that, we blast it again for an additional 10 minutes to get it the same golden colour you see here.
We don’t use a wire rack to roast our pork because we prefer the juices of the meat to absorb back into the pork while roasting for juicier, tender and flavourful meat.
PULL APART
Because this Pork Roast recipe is done in less than 2 hours total cooking time, you don’t end up with the whole roast being pull apart meat.
However, the meat around the outer sides is fall-apart tender with crispy charred edges, while all of the pan juices re-absorb back into the meat for even MORE flavour.
HOW TO SERVE ROAST PORK
Let it rest for a good 10-15 minutes so all of those juices stay in the meat before carving. The longer you wait the juicier the meat. The crackle doesn’t go soft while resting.
Most people tell you to tent it with foil while resting, but I’ve never done this and don’t plan to. After seeing the crackling so perfect, I go into protective mode. Nobody > touches > the crackling.
After you’ve pulled off all of the crackling to get to the meat (it took all kinds of restraint to keep it in place for these photos I tell you), you can slice it and serve it up drizzled with pan juices and some cracking on the side.
ROAST PORK SIDES
- Creamy Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts & Bacon
- Mashed Potatoes
- Honey Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots
- Garlic Parmesan Roasted Carrots
- Sheet Pan Garlic Parmesan Roasted Broccoli & Green Beans
LEFTOVERS
What does that even mean? Leftovers don’t exist here. On the very odd and rare occasion they do, it’s my favourite part of the next day. Think pork sliders, pork grilled cheese, fajitas, pizza toppings, in a salad or on toast with a poached egg in the morning drizzled with hollandaise sauce… lord help me.
PORK ROAST WITH CRACKLE ON VIDEO!
Pork Roast With Crackle
Ingredients
- 4 pound (2 kg) boneless pork shoulder or butt, rind on
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt
Instructions
- Remove all plastic wrap from the pork. Lay it out flat in a tray, rind-side up and uncovered. Allow to dry completely in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or overnight if time allows.
- Remove pork from the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before roasting to allow it to come to room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 460°F (240°C).
- Use a sharp knife to score the rind in 1-inch intervals. Thoroughly pat the skin dry with paper towels.
- Turn pork skin-side down. Rub garlic powder and about 1 teaspoon of salt into the meat underneath. Drizzle the olive oil over the pork rind and the meat, rubbing it in with your fingers for best results (if you need more oil, add more). Season the rind with a generous amount of sea salt (about 1 tablespoon).
- Transfer pork to a roasting dish and roast for 50 minutes, or until the rind crackles. Reduce temperature to 350°F (180°C) and continue roasting for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, depending on how well done you like your roast.
- Increase the oven temperature back up to 440°F (230°C). Roast for 10 minutes until the rind has turned into an amazing golden crackling and the pork is cooked through.
(To check if the pork is cooked, pierce the thickest part of the meat with a knife. If the juices run clear, the pork is cooked. Alternatively, pork is cooked when the thermometer shows 160°F (71°C). - Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
Jennifer says
My first attempt at a crackle and it worked!! Wonderful.
Usually, my first attempts never work. Surprised and delighted. My husband and I ate the whole crackle together before it even cooled. We could not stop ourselves.
I only made one mod. I used bacon grease instead of cooking oil for the glaze.
Awesome
Jennifer says
My first attempt at a crackle and it worked!! Wonderful.
Usually, my first attempts never work. Surprised and delighted. My husband and I ate the whole crackle together before it even cooled. We could not stop ourselves.
I only made one mod. I used bacon grease instead of cooking oil for the glaze.
Awesome
Jennifer says
My first attempt at a crackle and it worked!! Wonderful.
Usually, my first attempts never work. Surprised and delighted. My husband and I ate the whole crackle together before it even cooled. We could not stop ourselves.
I only made one mod. I used bacon grease instead of cooking oil for the glaze.
Awesome
Maru says
Absolute perfetion! Nailed it the very first time! thank you so much!
Jason says
I’m from south Louisiana and we fancy ourselves to be great cooks. We also immediately doubt every recipe we see. I will NEVER, let me repeat that, NEVER, make pork roast any way other than following this recipe to the T. It is perfection!!!!!!
Al. says
In middle of a storm so couldn’t use the Weber outside.
Followed up with rhubarb and ice cream.
This recipe was pure dead magic!!
Thanks, Al.
Jim says
Mothers day I cooked Pork as per your recipe .My son in law aged 60 who loves pork has cooked it for years . He thought it was the best he had ever had
I AGREE
Elena says
I used this recipe for pork belly and it turned fantastic with beautiful cracker and it really remained dry after resting under the foil 👍
Marty says
I found the crackle (we call it crackling) doesn’t go soft while resting. Great recipe, great result.
Emelie Parsäter says
How long time would it take to make 1,1 kg of pork?
DK says
2 hours
Katrina says
Amazing every time
Gino says
Forgot to give it a rating!
Gino says
I was looking for a roast pork recipe and yours stuck out. Making a pork roast with crackling skin? No way!
We had a six pound, bone in roast. I had to make a few adjustments, but followed your recipe exactly. The end result was pure heaven.
Since we had a six pound bone in roast, I knew it would take longer because of the weight and the bone. I took the roast out of the plastic a few days before, wrapped it in cheesecloth fat side up and dry aged it for a few days. Took it out a few hours before we baked it, made incisions on the top and followed your prep. Now, this is the most important thing, you need a digital thermometer. I put it in the oven for 50 mins at 460F. Decreased the temperature to 350F and set the digital thermometer to 150F. When it reached that temp I increased the oven temp to 440F as stated, and reset the thermometer to 160F. It took about 12 minutes to get there and took it out. Let it rest for 30 minutes, but not before taking some of that crackle and trying it. It reminded me of the Chinese version of roast pork. It was amazing! The whole entire top was crazy crispy and delicious. I can’t stop talking about it. Everyone LOVED the roast and the meat itself was tender and juicy.
Thank you again for this recipe and it’s my only go to now for roast pork.
PS The key to making this perfect is a digital thermometer. You insert it into the meat, set it and forget it. I honestly don’t know how long it took, but I think less than three hours.
Jessica says
What would the cook time recommendation be for a 6-7 lb pork roast?
Teresa Paul says
I want to make this tonight but I have a big shoulder, 8lbs. Could I still use this recipe? Double the time maybe? Has anyone tried it with a bigger piece of meat? TIA
Terri says
I’m not a very confident cook lol but decided to give this a try. So proud of my little pork roast – I couldn’t sit it out over night but was it was still delicious!!! I added potatoes & kumara (sweet potato) the meat was beautiful & the crackling was so yum. I can’t thank you enough, my sister and I LOVED it – going for thirds as we speak lol. I don’t feel like such a useless cook anymore (yay me) ? Will definitely be trying another one of your recipes soon, love from Australia ?
Michael says
Have to agree with all the superlative comments here. Don’t know how many times we’ve tried to get good/perfect crackling (including one recipe that suggested doing the skin with a hair-dryer) etc etc. NONE worked …. until now ?
We did it with a 1kg pork belly piece and adjusted the times a bit (will have to experiment a bit more with those times) but there result was successful crackling for about 80% of the skin (WHY the remaining 20% in the middle wouldn’t crackle is a mystery).
But hey, we were SUPER happy with 80%.
Thanks for brilliant, simple instructions.
Doreen Dziokonski says
Fantastic.
Hilda says
I had 24 family members over for Christmas dinner and two x 2.5kg boneless pork shoulder roasts were part of the menu, along with roasted turkey breast (cooked the day before) and two x 2.5 kg lamb legs cooked and smoked with hickory in the Weber kettle. I too discovered several years ago that pork shoulder roasts are usually much more tender and flavoursome than some other cuts. However, the crackling has always confounded me…. sometime I would get some, other time nothing ?. This method is foolproof! I followed your instructions to the letter and let them sit uncovered in the fridge overnight. I think this is the BIG SECRET! Along with blitzing the roasts with high heat both at the beginning AND at the end of the cooking time, seemed to seal the deal. This resulted in two pieces of succulent, tender roasts both completely covered with crispy crackling! There was enough crackling for every guest to have some!???
Thank you so much!
From an old girl in Australia.
Nadja Wolos says
How would you use the drippings to make gravy?
Erica Joy RobertsWood says
zTo make the gravy out of the juices just add flour to the pan over the stove top and make a rue. Then add water slowly and i add rasberry jam only one or two teaspoons to the gravy and yummy youve got your gravy
Ivona says
This was my first time trying to make a crackle and it was a complete success! Thank you!
Hilda says
Oops, I forgot to rate this recipe! If I could give it more stars, I would…..!
Cheers again, from Australia
Diane Quinlan says
Thankyou for sharing this recipe. For the first time ever, I have beautiful roast pork with crackling 🙂
Martin says
After years of mixed results trying to achieve the perfect crackle, you have helped me finally achieve it. And it was as simple as drying the pork rind out in the refrigerator!!!! I tell anyone who will listen now. Thanks so much.
Denise says
Made this tonight. My first time cooking a pork roast. It was divine. I added carrots and baby Yukon potatoes to the roasting pan the last hour and made some baked apples as a side. WOW! This will be a special meal going forward.
Karina says
Wonderful tweaks. Glad you liked it.
Scott says
First time I have ever made successful cracking. Thanks for the recipe.
Shelley says
Dear Karina, your recipe for roast pork is perfect, thanks so much for sharing it.
Kassmena says
Used this method for the first time – got amazing results!! Was so proud of my roast 🙂
Daily4ever says
This really is one of the best recipes for pork roast. The meat is tender but holds together well, and it is so, so juicy. I added smoked paprika and some sage to the seasoning and it is very yummy! This will be my go-to recipe from now on.
Karina says
Happy to hear that!
Danielle says
It was delicious, thanks so much for the recipe!
Donna says
Hi Karina, Can’t wait to try this dish! In your recipe description u say to use 1/2 tlbs coarse salt and 1/4 cup of oil but in the recipe below says 1tbls sea salt and 2 tbls of oil. Which instructions do I follow? Thank you!
Karina says
Hi Donna, I’m so sorry for the confusion! I’ve just updated the post to make it clearer ? ENJOY!
TNA says
Hello, I am having trouble locating a boneless pork roast with rind in Houston, would anyone know where I could locate one?
Prav P says
I used the Pork shoulder with the bone in. worked fine.
Cathy Nargateev says
I’m surprised of the difficulty you are experiencing sourcing the meat. When I was last in Houston the place was teeming with thick skinned spineless pigs. I’m so glad if it’s not like that now. Cheers..CH
Michael says
Spineless pigs. Does that mean they’re cowardly ?
irene gonzalez says
I buy mine at Hong Kong market or Asian markets.
Adrian says
Lovely recipe love crispy crackling
Niv says
Hello from Australia…
I have a 2 pound loin roast.. would I just half these cooking times to achieve same result?
Thanks
Niv ?
Karina says
Yes, that would be great! Enjoy! XO
Amanda L says
It worked to perfection. Best crackling ever and the pork was still moist and tender. Thank you
Jennifer R Duncan says
I made this last night with Brussel sprout hash and a truffle gouda as an app. I think my husband fell in love with me again.
Manuela English says
This recipe looks really easy and delicious. however did I read correctly that you cook the roast for 50 min at a temperature of 460 F ? Would that not burn and dry out the roast? Just curious.
Alex says
This worked perfectly first go! Thank you so much. Yummy!
Kimberly Baxter says
As if this dish needed something better! That crumble sounds fabulous and takes it over the top!