We have been working with a pig. One porcine preparation we adjusted was our cracklings. We used to simmer the skins or cook them sous vide, but both preparations took too long. Yesterday, we decided to pick up the pace. We put our skins in the pressure cooker with a bunch of other ingredients because, at the time, we were thinking about broth. Our first accomplishment was a smoked pork broth enriched with pork skins. Once that was made, we realized that while we had captured the richness of the skins, we had tenderized them at the same time in the pressure cooker. We pulled them out of the broth and gently scraped off the fat. Once the fat was removed and reserved for rendering, we dried the skins in the dehydrator. Once the skins were dry, we fried them in rice bran oil because the fat had not finished rendering. We seasoned the cracklings with a blend of maple sugar, juniper berries, and salt. The results were a delicious version of the cracklings we have made in the past, but took a fraction of the time to prepare. That is what we call a good day in the kitchen.
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