Making pork crackling - help

[tekobo]

Hi folks.  I am planning an Italian Christmas feast and one suggestion is that I make porchetta.  The plan is to roll a pork belly around a loin and cook on the rotisserie.  The only problem with that is that I have not had good success with getting pork skin crisp in my KK.  I have no trouble in my indoor oven - cook at high temp (220C) for up to half an hour and then lower temp to about 170C for the rest of the cook.  Reducing the temperature rapidly in the KK doesn't seem like a practical option and I suspect the fact that KKs keep meat most might be acting against me here.  Grateful for any advice. Planning on a trial with a de-boned pork leg later today.  

I cooked the below pork joint a few weeks ago:

Looked good but just didn't manage to get the skin as crispy as I would like. 

Edited September 16, 2018 by tekobo

[tony b]

I attempted porchetta once. I did it in the rotisserie basket over a drip pan. But, like you, my skin didn't crisp up. It was like gummi bears. Might have gotten better results without the drop pan, but I was concerned with all the dripping fat creating bad smoke.

Good luck. Hopefully you can teach me how to do it. 

Edited September 16, 2018 by tony b

[Bruce Pearson]

Tekobo, crisp or not that stilllooks yummy

[tekobo]

3 hours ago, tony b said:

my skin didn't crisp up. It was like gummi bears.

Great description, gummy bears.  I don't want upside down smiley faces at dinner today so I may just do this first trial on my indoor oven rotisserie.  Will do a KK practice with a smaller, more receptive audience (=bribed with drink) at a later date.

2 hours ago, Bruce Pearson said:

Tekobo, crisp or not that stilllooks yummy

Thanks Bruce, it was v tasty but was lacking that crunch that we all look forward to in a pork roast. 

[MacKenzie]

telobo, that pork roast you did on the rotisserie certainly looks extra delicious.  

Edited September 16, 2018 by MacKenzie

[Bruce Pearson]

Tekobo,  I don’t know if anybody’s ever tried it but maybe you could Crispus going up by using a  propane torch like they do when they want to put a finish on those fluffy white stuff they put on some Recipes. I don’t know if that would work but if you have a torch you might want to give it a try

[tekobo]

I just went for it.  Cooked the pork at about 225C with no water in the drip tray for the first half an hour.  It was really really smoky.  Swapped out the fatty drip tray once the crackling was nice and crunchy and put in pan with a bit of water to keep the smoke down.  Came out really nice.  We have munched up a fair bit of the crackling and the meat is now resting.

Will have some corn while we are waiting and will accompany the pork with some beetroot, currently lurking in foil on the OK.

The crackling turned out OK but I am not sure if I really want that much smoke in my life.  I suspect the KK is not the best tool for cooking fatty pork at high temperatures...

[MacKenzie]

Interesting. 

[Tyrus]

Tekobo, you shoulda been a pitcher in the major leagues. Rolling the piece closer to the fire at it's end maybe an option. It is an 8 hour cook, the finish is a problem for you so, the roll ? Height for the grill grate is a concern, lower or higher.  Glad to see the dark color in your KK 

[Aussie Ora]

Looks great you could always run the KK at a high temp for the first hour and drop it down .then stop the spit every so often so it gets a nice heat blast

Outback kamado Bar and Grill

[tony b]

That's the trick. Do the high heat sear at the very beginning before the KK heat soaks. Then you can drop the temp down to do the slow roast with the water pan.

[tekobo]

I am still keen to hear from anyone who has had success with crisping up pork skin in their KK.  Would be good to know how you achieved it.  

The meat on this last cook came out very juicy and tasty.  You just can't get that smoky flavour in an indoor oven so I'll be trying a few more experiments to see how I can minimise the smoke from the burning pig fat while maximising the flavour in the meat. 

[tekobo]

On 9/16/2018 at 10:33 PM, Tyrus said:

Glad to see the dark color in your KK 

Tee hee.  Does that mean I am now a proper, grown up KK owner now?

[Tyrus]

On ‎9‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 12:21 PM, tekobo said:

Tee hee.  Does that mean I am now a proper, grown up KK owner now?

Kinda,sorta but it"s more of a badge of honor...Winston Churchill thing, good show and all that. Burning the coconut shell as I'm assuming is a less darkening charcoal. I have six boxes in the garage unopened and haven't been drawn to because of the comfortable charcoal I burn.  They won't go bad and when I do break one open I'll let you know as well as the KK community. Procrastinator, yes.

[Aussie Ora]

https://komodokamadoforum.com/topic/7061-pork-roast-killer-crackle/

Outback kamado Bar and Grill

[Aussie Ora]

I will do one this weekend to show you It can be done churchi .nails it the beauty of the kk Is you can ark it up at the start for the the first hour and dial back . Just what you can do in an oven .prep is the key though oven or grill

Outback kamado Bar and Grill

[tekobo]

On 9/20/2018 at 12:37 PM, Aussie Ora said:

I will do one this weekend to show you It can be done churchi .nails it the beauty of the kk Is you can ark it up at the start for the the first hour and dial back . Just what you can do in an oven .prep is the key though oven or grill

That's great, thanks Aussie.  The link to @churchi's cook is v helpful and I will also look over at the links on other forums that others in that post referred to.  My main concern is with the fat burn off.  A porchetta is a loin (like churchi's cook) with the skin taken off and then wrapped in a belly.  I live in a built up area and subjecting them to the fat burning off during the high temperature phase makes me a not so good neighbour.  I will be interested to see how you go with the smoke and the cook.