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Since I made the Chinese style roast pork belly in my air fryer, I thought why not make the ang moh (local Singapore slang for Caucasian) version with dry spice rub. The Chinese version is marinated with Asian sauces. This version of the roast pork with crispy crackling will be using a dry spice rub instead but still cooked in an air fryer. This time round I made line cuts onto the skin with an 1cm gap, as that will make cutting the cooked meat easier without breaking the crispy skin, which was what happened to the Chinese version.
Crispy pork crackling is all about the pork skin and fats. So of course I have to use the pork belly as the safest choice, though you can use pork loin or pork shoulder with the skin on. The pork belly has about 50% fat, so it not only will taste great (though not good for the waistline), the fats under the skin will melt and create air pockets that puffs and crisp up the skin. It’s essential to keep the skin as dry as possible, thus after marinating, you need to put that piece of meat in the fridge for 24-36 hours to air dry the skin.
Many of the roast pork with crispy crackling recipes are traditionally made with the oven. Even since I got the air fryer, it has been miraculously fast to cook this dish and with very nice crispy skins. Using the air fryer, I have also made the air fryer lamb rack, air fryer soy chicken with potatoes, air fryer prawn paste chicken, do check them out.
Who invented pork crackling
There are several theories on who invented this delicious snack. There are several names, pork cracklings, pork scratchings, pork rinds.
Pork scratchings are literally pork cracklings. Some said it was made in the 1500s in Spain and eaten by the aristocracy. While others said it’s a very British humble snack, eaten by the working class during the 1800s. Yet for the Chinese, in particularly the Cantonese speaking part of Southern China, roast pork belly with crispy skin is one of those ceremonial dishes prepared and consumed during the big festivals, business openings, spiritual rituals and special family parties. It is not uncommon to find the whole pig being roasted and presented during these events.
Pork rinds are actually pork skin that has been deep fried or roasted to very dehydrated and crispy form. It’s quite commonly found in the snack section in many parts of the world including US, South America, Europe, The Philippines, Thailand (they called it Khonkaen), and most certainly on Amazon. They are crunchy and savoury but I found them smelt of frozen pork and quite oily (ok, yes pork cracklings are oily too). I’d much prefer pork crackling than pork rinds personally.
Watch how to make air fryer roast pork with crispy crackling
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Air Fryer Roast Pork with Crispy Crackling
Detailed Step-by-Step Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 kg pork belly
- 3 tbsp coarse salt
- 3 tbsp black pepper powder
- 3 tbsp curry powder
- 3 tbsp paprika powder
Instructions
- Wash clean 1 kg pork belly. Pat dry with a paper towel.
- Score the skin using a sharp knife, making shallow cuts on the skin in straight or crisscross lines, about 1 cm apart. Take note to only cut the skin and not to cut into the meat.
- Prepare the spice mix with mixing 3 tbsp coarse salt, 3 tbsp black pepper powder, 3 tbsp curry powder, 3 tbsp paprika powder.
- Rub the spice mix all over the pork meat and skin.
- Keep the marinated pork belly in the fridge for 24 hours, skin side up, uncovered.Note: I kept mine for about 36 hours. Minimally you can keep it overnight but 24-48 hours are ideal. The skin will feel slightly harder and dry.
- Before air frying, dab the skin with a paper towel to absorb any moisture as much as possible.
- Pre-heat air fryer for 3 minutes at 210C / 410F.Place the pork in the air fryer with skin side up. Air fry at 210C / 410F for 25 minutes. Flip the pork every 10-15 minutes to ensure even cooking.
- Then reduce the temperature to 180C / 356F for another 15 minutes. Check every 5 minutes to monitor the skin if it is burnt, as different air fryers might require different timings! If parts of the skin is burnt, remove from the air fryer. Check the internal temperature for pork is about 63C / 145F.
- Once it is cooked, let the roast pork rest for about 15 minutes. Slice the meat and serve.Enjoy the roast pork with crispy crackling and juicy meat.
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