Baked Pig Skin

Teh:

I was at Sheng Siong on Friday evening and saw pig skin packed for sale at $0.40! I decided to buy one pack to do some experiments. There were 3 pieces of relatively big sized pig skin in that pack. They measured roughly about 45 cm by 10 cm each. And to my amazement, there were only skin and no fats attached at all.

After sourcing the internet for the various ways to make crispy pig skin, i decided and tried a few methods.

1) Deep fry the pig skin immediately.
2) Cook pig skin until tender then freeze before deep frying.
3) Baked pig skin (Scored and not scored).

I want to tell you what not to do..... DO NOT ATTEMPT NO.1 and NO.2. A total waste of good pig skin! Method no.1 made the pig skin curl up and blister. It was very hard and ugly! Method 2 did not produce crispy pig skin =( Method 3 was the magic. Just check out the pictures below!

Baked Pig Skin - Scored

Baked Pig Skin - Not scored

After many attempts at baking pig skin, I have come to the grand conclusion that it has to be scored to ensure the skin will turn out crispy. You simply have to cut the skin all over, rub salt and let the magic happen. Although the two pig skin turned out crispy, the one that was scored was more ideal. The non-scored skin turned out to be slightly harder. Besides, just look at the difference in appearance. Which one do you feel like eating?

Method:
1. Wash pig skin, dry it and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight. (This will help to dry the skin)
2. Score the skin (make shallow cuts all over the skin. Preferably evenly like criss-cross cuts)
3. Rub some salt all over the skin and in between the cuts.
4. Baked it in an oven at 220 degrees celcius for 15 minutes then lower it to 180 degrees celcius for 15 minutes.

I think the crispy skin is best eaten some meat. No wonder roast pork is so popular! If you want to make roast pork, try this recipe. My next attempt will be Pork Knuckles!