Oreilles de Crisse

Rural Quebec·Medium·30 min

Salted pork belly, fatback or jowl, brined and deep-fried until puffed, crispy and ruffled, hence the ears. Served drizzled with maple syrup at sugar shacks, a near-mandatory sugar-shack plate item with an irreverent sacrilegious name.

Pork Belly

Salt

Oil

Maple Syrup

Oreilles de crisse, Christ's ears, is a near-mandatory sugar-shack plate item in rural Quebec. Salted pork belly, fatback or jowl is brined and deep-fried until puffed, crispy and ruffled (hence the ears), and served drizzled with maple syrup. The ruffled shape and the irreverent sacrilegious name are pure Quebecois vernacular. Unique among world pork-rind traditions for its maple-syrup pairing, the dish is eaten at the cabane à sucre alongside baked beans, ham and grands-pères.

Glassy, audibly crisp, puffed pork rind that shatters on the bite, salted deep, the maple syrup drizzle turning it sweet-salty. Eaten hot as a snack, it is rich, crunchy and the salty-sweet essence of the sugar shack.

The pork belly or fatback is brined for a day, then simmered in water until the skin softens, which can take an hour. It is cooled, dehydrated (traditionally air-dried overnight, modern cooks use a low oven), then deep-fried at high heat. The residual moisture in the skin flashes to steam in the hot oil, puffing the rind into its ruffled, crispy form. The dehydration is the key step; without it the rind will not puff.

Variations

A modern version uses Montreal steak spices instead of syrup. Some serve with ketchup.

On the Palate

Where Oreilles de Crisse sits in the Canadian flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 8

500gPork Belly

for brineSalt

for fryingOil

to drizzleMaple Syrup

How it's made

6 steps · 30 min

1
6 min
Brine 500g pork belly (skin on) in salted water 24 hours; drain.
2
20 min
Simmer the belly in water 1 hour until the skin is soft; drain.
3
20 min
Cool, then dehydrate the belly overnight in a 90C oven until the skin is dry and hard.
Watch out
Dehydrate the rind until it's dry and hard before frying — this is the make-or-break step; any moisture left and it won't puff in the oil.
4
4 min
Cut into strips.
5
8 min
Heat oil to 190C; fry the strips in batches 2-3 minutes until puffed, golden and very crisp.
Watch out
Fry hot until the strips puff and ruffle — that flash of steam is what opens them; pull them crisp and golden.
6
4 min
Drain on paper, salt lightly, and serve hot drizzled with maple syrup.