Pork Roast with Crackle

 I'm always down for crackle, so I've been trying to perfect making Pork roasts.  I figured I better record it since I keep forgetting all my 'lessons learned' and every attempt ends up being "oh that's right, I was meant to..." smh.

Anyways, I made this perfectly ONCE ... and then got botz and tried to do things based on my memory and yep, a couple more imperfect Roasts...but I still think this one is the winner so here it is, REMEMBER YOUR NOTES SUI!!

(Original recipe can be found here)

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. (I add salt coz that's what Marion Grasby says to do lol)
• Remove pork from the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before roasting to allow it to come to room temperature. (I should probably do this)
• Preheat oven to 460°F (240°C) (230 degrees fan bake...and the actual fan bake, not the grill on the top fan bake setting)
• Use a sharp knife to score the rind in 1-inch intervals. Thoroughly pat the skin dry with paper towels. (I suck at scoring, I found that if I cut right through the skin that my crackle is guaranteed to crackle, does that still count as scoring? Also, don't score so thin, coz then you'll burn the crackle before the pork is ready)
• 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. (The rind starts crackling way earlier than 50mins, but I think I need to play around with this time, 50mins seems too long, 30ish mins I think may be good?) 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.

I can't wait to get this recipe down, so that my crackle is consistently crackly lol