Australian · dinner

Slow-Roast Pork Leg with Salt-Only Crackling

Slow-Roast Pork Leg with Salt-Only Crackling — from Coles's cooking video Watch how it’s made · 3:47

Video by Coles on YouTube · Open on YouTube

185 min · plus overnight drying in the fridgeServes 8512 kcal a serve
  • Carnivore
  • Low carb (0 g net carbs) but not keto: 58% of the energy is from fat, and keto meals get about 60% or more
  • Gluten-free ingredients
  • Dairy-free
  • Nut-free

Contains: none of the common allergens in the listed ingredients. Check labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes.

Nothing but pork and salt: a serve gives about 50 g of protein, more than a day's selenium and plenty of zinc and B vitamins. It's a big plate (about 510 kcal before the crackling), so pair it with vegetables if you're not eating carnivore.

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Ingredients 2

Method

Tap a time to watch that step in the video.

  1. The day before, unwrap the pork and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight so the skin dries out. 0:14
  2. Preheat the oven to 150 °C (130 °C fan). With a box cutter or very sharp knife, score the skin in thin lines close together, through the skin but not deep into the fat — more cuts give thinner, crisper crackling. 0:20
  3. Rub coarse salt into the skin and the scores; no oil. Sit the pork on a rack in a roasting pan so air can circulate. 0:50
  4. Roast for 1½–2 hours, until the thickest part reads about 50 °C and the skin looks dry but not yet crisp. Lift out the rack and pour off the fat from the pan. 1:13
  5. Turn the oven up to 250 °C (230 °C fan) and roast 20–25 minutes more, until the skin bubbles into crackling and the centre reads about 60 °C. 1:53
  6. Rest for 25 minutes. Remove the string, lift off the crackling in one piece and chop it, then carve the meat thinly. Carve only what you need so leftovers stay juicy. 2:28

Tip. Low heat dries the skin; the final blast puffs it into crackling. The nutrition is for roast leg meat and fat — the food row has no skin, so the crackling adds more fat than shown. Coles serves it with roast cauliflower and agrodolce.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.

One serve gives you 1 of 8

Energy512 kcal2,140 kJ
Protein50 g100% of a day
Fibre0 g0% of a day
Carbohydrate0 g0 g net · 0 g sugars0% of a day
Fat33 g12 g saturated42% of a day
Sodium550 mg24% of a day

Where the energy comes from one serve

  • Net carbs 0%
  • Protein 40%
  • Fat 60%

Very low carb: under 10% of the energy is from carbs.

Vitamins & minerals % of a day, one serve · tap for more

Selenium High154%

85 µg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Part of the body's antioxidant enzymes and needed for thyroid hormones. Seafood, eggs, meat and Brazil nuts are rich sources.

Vitamin B12 High53%

1.3 µg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Keeps nerves and blood cells healthy. Found almost only in animal foods and fortified foods (some plant milks, nutritional yeast), so vegans need a reliable source.

Zinc High50%

5.6 mg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Needed for immunity, wound healing, taste and growth. Meat, seafood, legumes, seeds and whole grains supply it.

Vitamin B6 High44%

0.8 mg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Helps turn food into energy and make brain messengers. Chickpeas, fish, poultry, potatoes and bananas are good sources.

Omega-3 Source18%

0.3 g a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Omega-3 fats support the heart and brain. Oily fish give EPA and DHA; walnuts, flax, chia and canola give ALA, which the body converts only a little.

Potassium Source14%

660 mg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Balances sodium to help control blood pressure and keeps muscles and nerves working. Beans, potatoes, leafy greens and fruit are rich sources.

Iron Source11%

1.9 mg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Carries oxygen in your blood. Iron from plants absorbs better with vitamin C in the same meal — lemon, tomato or capsicum.

Magnesium Source10%

41 mg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Takes part in hundreds of reactions — energy, muscles, nerves, blood sugar and bones. Nuts, seeds, legumes and whole grains are good sources.

Show the other 7
Vitamin D8%

1.5 µg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Helps you absorb calcium for bones and supports muscles. Few foods have much — oily fish, eggs, UV-exposed mushrooms, fortified milks. Sunlight is the main source.

Folate5%

19 µg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Needed to make DNA and new cells — especially important before and in early pregnancy. Legumes and leafy greens are rich sources.

Vitamin E3%

0.4 mg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). An antioxidant that protects cell membranes. Nuts, seeds and plant oils such as olive oil are the main sources.

Calcium2%

27 mg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (99%). Builds bones and teeth and helps muscles and nerves work. Dairy, calcium-set tofu, sardines with their bones and some greens supply it.

Vitamin A1%

5.6 µg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). Keeps eyes, skin and the immune system healthy. Orange vegetables and dark greens give beta-carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A.

Vitamin C1%

0.6 mg a serve, mostly from boneless pork leg roast (100%). An antioxidant needed for collagen, immunity and iron absorption. Long cooking destroys some, so raw herbs, citrus and capsicum help.

Vitamin K0%

0 µg a serve. Needed for blood clotting and bones. Leafy greens and herbs are very rich in it. If you take warfarin, keep your intake steady and talk to your doctor.

Estimated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central values; % of a day uses the food-label daily values. How this works

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Recipe and video by Coles; the method summary, nutrition estimate and diet notes are Notbroken’s. General information about food, not dietary advice.