Preserved Pork Cracklings

THESE cracklings are an indispensable ingredient of island cooking, giving flavor to vegetable stews, bean dishes, sautéed greens, omelettes and savory pies. Tablespoons of the fat, with or without the meat, are added to many foods as flavoring. Pancetta is a good substitute.

On Tinos, they call the cracklings sissira, while on other islands they are called siglina. The name is probably derived from the sizzling sound the pork makes as it cooks in its own fat.