Juicy Air Fryer Roast Pork With Crispy Crackling

Name: Juicy Air Fryer Roast Pork With Crispy Crackling
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 95 min
Ingredients: 1.7 kg Boneless Pork Leg (Or a size suited to your air fryer); 1 tbsp Table Salt; 2 tbsp Olive Oil (more if needed); 2 tbsp Sea Salt (more if needed)

May 29, 2021 by Kylie 29 Comments

Looking for a healthier way to cook your pork roast, then our Air Fryer Roast Pork with Crispy Crackling recipe may be what you need.

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We love our roast pork, and even though Shannon mainly cooks ours in the Weber Q. There are times when it is just more convenient for me to cook it in our Phillips XXL Air Fryer. And it comes out just as juicy and tender, and the crackle is fantastic.

How to cook roast pork in an air fryer?

It is super simple to cook roast pork in the air fryer. And makes life easier if you need to cook or bake in the oven at the same time.

Ingredients:
You do not need much to make this:

Boneless Pork Leg
Olive Oil
Sea Salt Flakes
Table Salt

Preparation:
Before you can start cooking your pork roast, there is a couple of steps you need to do to prepare your pork.

These steps help you to get an excellent crispy crackle every time.

Score the skin. Sometimes when you buy roast pork, the skin is not scored well. Make sure you check and cut with a very sharp knife, but do not cut too far down; about halfway through the skin is enough.
Dry and salt the skin. Very important, especially if you are using a vacuum-sealed one from your local supermarket. Pat the pork down with a paper towel, then rub a generous amount of table salt over the skin. Then cover with a tea towel and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. The salt soaks up moisture from the skin, drying it out.

Note – For the best results, follow the above step, but if you have to do this the day of cooking your pork, dry and salt your pork first thing in the morning and sit covered on the bench.
Bring Your pork to room temperature. For an excellent even cook, allow your pork to sit covered on your bench so that it warms up to room temperature.

Method:

Once you are ready to cook your pork, rub some olive oil over the skin, then rub some sea salt flakes over the skin, making sure, you cover every inch of the skin and into the score marks.

Then repeat with a little more oil and finally a bit more sea salt. But this time, you are not rubbing the salt over it; you are just spreading the salt over the top and side, but try not to use too much as you will end up with very salty crackle.

If there is too much sitting on top, scrape some off.

And make sure you oil the sides and underneath the pork.

Preheat your air fryer at 200°C for about 2 minutes.

If you happen to have an iGrill 2 meat thermometer, place the probe into the thickest side directly in the middle. It will help you monitor the meats internal temperature.

Once your air fryer has preheated, spray the bottom of the basket with non-stick cooking spray and place the pork in the air fryer. Place the probe in a position where you can close the air fryer properly.

And just like any other time you cook roast pork, you need to blast it with heat to get a good crackle.

Set your air fryer to 200°C on the roast setting and cook for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 180°C and cook for 25 minutes per 500g or until the internal temp reaches 68°C.

Once your pork reaches 68°C, remove it from the air fryer and let it rest until the internal temperature reaches 71°C.
71°C is the safe eating temperature for pork, but do not let it cook in the air fryer till it hits that temperature, as it will dry your pork out. Your pork still cooks while it is resting, and taking it out at 68°C will give you juicy roast pork to go with that crispy crackle.

It’s handy to have an instant-read meat thermometer to check the temperature of your meat, during cook time so you know when to remove it from your air fryer.

What cut and size pork to use in your air fryer?

You are limited with an air fryer when it comes to the size of your pork compared to an oven or Weber Q.

Make sure you know the size of your air fryer basket before buying your meat.

I find boneless works the best; however, if you cook roast pork with a bone in it, be sure to let me know how you go with it in the comments box below.

Another important thing to consider is the thickness of the skin! Using a pork roast with thin skin works best in the air fryer. However, due to the swelling of the skin, while cooking it can touch the top of the inside of the air fryer and start to burn. It can also prevent you from opening up the basket draw.

As for the cut, well, that depends on your preference. We love roasting a leg.

What to serve with your air fryer roast pork with crispy crackling?

The sky is the limit with what to serve. Here are just some ideas that we have alongside our air fryer roast pork with crispy crackling.

Other options are:

Roast or creamy mashed potatoes
Steamed green vegetables, such as broccoli or beans
Corn, carrots, asparagus and peas.
Roast or mashed pumpkin
Other salads, such as garden, coleslaw or caesar.

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