Swann house

[Laurie Verge]

I figured a girl from the South would know! Usually the month of November was hog killing time in Southern Maryland after the first killing frost. Many times, this became a community gathering time - especially for the farmers who did not have slave labor to help.

After the butchering and the saving of every conceivable part (including feet, which were pickled, and bladders that were used to cover canning jars or as balloons for the children during the holidays), the fat was rendered into lard. Cracklings are the tiny little pieces of skin that remain (similar to pork rinds of today, but smaller and tastier IMO). These became snacks, but could also be used in making cracklin bread.

Surratt House composed its first cookbook in the early-1980s, and James O. Hall sent us on quite a chase to find a recipe for cracklin bread like his grandmother used to make. JOH was born and raised in southern Oklahoma.