May-June 2016_nobleed

the Pork issue

P raise the Lard by Chef Nathan Richard + photo by Romney Caruso

W e’re making cracklin’s here, gratons to be exact, so you’re going to need about two pounds of boneless pork belly with the fat and meat and skin on, cut into cubes. Let me be clear, you need to do this OUTSIDE, preferably in the yard away from anything that could catch fire. There is a great risk of fire and grease burns with this process, so get out your deep and large black-iron pot. I start with two pounds of lard. Not Crisco, not peanut oil ... lard. This amount is good for my pot; it may not be for yours, so adjust as needed. Here we go ... Light the fire to medium heat. Put the lard and one cup of water in the pot. When the grease gets to about 200 degrees add the pork belly. Get the lard up to about 250 degrees and try to keep it there.This will be hot enough to render the fat but not burn the oil. (I found that the lower temperature also keeps sticking to a minimum.) Stir every five minutes or so. The water is going to cook off first, but you’ll need to keep cooking until the bubbles almost stop; this could take up to

two hours. You’ll notice that the more you cook them the hotter the grease will get.Try to keep the grease below 325 degrees until they are done. When the bubbles are gone, use a slotted metal strainer to transfer the cracklin’s from the pot to a piece of newspaper lined with paper towels. Shake them around a little so they don’t stick. Place in the refrigerator to cool for at least 3 hours. Now’s the fun part ... you’re going to fry the cracklin’s again to make the skin pop. The fireman in me feels obliged to remind you need that you need to have a fire extinguisher on hand whenever you’re frying outdoors.

Heat the lard back up to about 380 to 400 degrees. (A trick I learned from a good ole Cajun boy like myself is to throw a match in the lard — it will ignite at around 400 degrees). Once the lard is up to temperature, return the cold cracklin’s to the pot.The skin is going to pop and blister — this softens it so it chews easier. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring and stirring the whole time. Transfer the cracklin’s to clean newspaper lined with paper towels. You want to move the pan around briskly to absorb the liquid lard. Lightly season with a mix of cayenne pepper, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder and Rouses salt and pepper. Let cool to room temperature before eating. ​

“The correct definition of “cracklin’” is a source of debate, depending on geography and personal taste. The termsometimes refers to pork rinds, which are simply pieces of skin that puff into curls when dropped into hot lard. Other times — and most of the time in Louisiana — the term cracklin’ applies to gratons, which constitute layers of back fat and meat as well as skin. Gratons, which are usually fried twice, are bigger and meatier than pork rinds. Lardons, which sometimes come from the back fat and sometimes from the belly, are meatier still.” —Sara Roahen

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MY ROUSES EVERYDAY maY | JUNE 2016