I thought for a long time about including this recipe, as I know it’s not the healthiest, but most people seem to really like pork crackling, regardless of health issues. We serve this at the pub as a snack and it goes down a treat with everyone. The recipe makes a lot of crackling, but is worth doing in this quantity and saving until needed. Cubebs, a spice used in Indonesian cooking, are available from www.worldspice.com. What could be more perfect with a few beers while watching the World Cup?

PORK CRACKLING

2 tbsp allspice
2-3 whole star anise
1 tbsp mace
10g cubebs or black peppercorns
90g fine sea salt
2-3 fresh sage leaves, torn in half
2 lemons, zested and juiced
500g coarse sea salt (sel gris)
500g pork rind, trimmed and cut into four pieces

Blitz the spices in a food processor or crush them to a fine powder in a pestle and mortar or a coffee grinder kept for the purpose. Mix 10g of the spice powder with the fine sea salt, sage leaves and 1 tsp of the lemon zest and store in a cool, dark place until required.

Mix the rest of the spice powder with the coarse sea salt and the remaining lemon zest and 4tbsp of lemon juice. Sprinkle an even layer of salt into the bottom of a container, lay a piece of rind flat on top, cover with salt and repeat until all the rind is covered with the salt mix. Cover well and refrigerate for at least 24 hours (preferably 48).

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Rinse the spice/salt mix off the pork rind and discard. Dry the rind well and score it in one direction. This is most easily done with a craft or Stanley knife, if you have one. Line a flat baking tray with greaseproof paper; place the rind flat on top, skin side up, then cover with another sheet of greaseproof paper.

The rind must stay flat while it cooks, so weigh it down with another flat baking tray of the same size, on top of which you can stand some tin cans. Try to distribute the weight evenly. (It’s a good idea to line the bottom of the oven with foil, to catch any drips from the baking tray.) Cook for 15-20 minutes, then take the pork rind out carefully and drain any juice from the tray. Scrape off any fat from the skin, which should have rendered by now. Put it back on the baking tray, skin side down, and place in the oven again for a further 10-15 minutes or until it turns a light golden brown and is crisp to the touch. Remove from the oven and scrape any remaining fat or gristle from the skin.

Leave to cool, then keep in a dry, airtight container in a cool place. Just before serving, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and put as much crackling as you require onto the baking tray. Bake for 5-10 minutes until curled, crispy and bubbled up. Sprinkle with the spicy salt mix made earlier and eat hot. Delicious.

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