Pork trotters to go ....

[Annemieke]

Yesterday a neighbour gave me: 9 pork trotters, 4 pig's ears and a lot of belly fat. All frozen together in a big lump. I could only just fit it in our freezer.
I intend to make the trotters into stock to freeze in batches; cook the ears; and would like to make the fat into crackling and lovely dripping. It's all more or less organic.
The trouble is, I have to defrost and deal with the whole lot in one go. And I would have preferred just one pig's worth, instead of two! I've offered half on Streetbank (http://www.streetbank.com) and freecycle, but I don't expect many reactions.
Has anyone got suggestions?
Do you live near here (Ilminster) and want half of it?
Can I freeze crackling, or will it keep a long time as it is?
Will it help if you add salt to the crackling?
Thanks! Love AW.

[Annemieke]

[Melbourne12]

We sometimes buy bulk piggy, and are faced with similar problems (though not QUITE as many trotters).  I would most certainly use the fat together with some supermarket (but English) pork shoulder to make sausages.

And you can make crackling from pork that has been frozen.  Thaw it in the fridge properly first, then score it, and rub salt into it before putting it into a hot oven on a suitable trivet.  But I don't think that you could freeze the cooked crackling successfully.