Active Time

　　20 min

　　Total Time

　　2 hr

　　If you're making this entire menu in a single oven, you will have to make the cracklings ahead (see cooks' note, below) and reheat them in the upper third of oven during the last 10 minutes of roasting the Roasted Potatoes with Lemon Salt Roasted Potatoes with Lemon Salt. Cracklings are commonplace in Britain, and we hope these crisp bits gain more popularity here, too.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 8 servings

　　2 teaspoons kosher salt

　　1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds

　　1 (2-lb) piece pork fatback with skin, fat trimmed to 1/3 inch thick

　　3/4 cup water

　　

Special Equipment

an electric coffee/spice grinder

　　

Step 1

Pulse kosher salt and fennel in grinder until fennel is coarsely ground. Arrange fatback, skin side up, on a work surface with longest side nearest you. Score pork skin (1/4 inch deep) crosswise with a sharp knife at 1/3-inch intervals (do not cut through to fat). Pat skin completely dry with paper towels, then rub fennel salt into skin. Let stand, loosely covered, at room temperature 1 hour.

　　

Step 2

Put oven rack in bottom third of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.

　　

Step 3

Pat skin completely dry with paper towels again, then cut skin into strips using scored cuts as a guide. Arrange strips close together in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) and slowly pour water into pan (not over skin). Roast, stirring twice (use caution, as fat may splatter), until strips are golden, blistered, and crisp, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain, then discard fat remaining in pan.

　　Cooks' note:

　　Cracklings can be made 6 hours ahead and cooled, uncovered, then kept, covered, at room temperature. Reheat in upper third of a preheated 425°F oven until hot, about 10 minutes.