Crispy rendered pork fat pieces left over from making lard; also refers to multiple crackling sounds or effects.
From 'crackle' (to make sharp, rapid sounds) plus the '-ings' suffix. The culinary meaning specifically refers to the sound the pork fat makes as it crisps and cracks during rendering.
Cracklings appear in cuisines worldwide—Mexican 'chicharrones,' Portuguese 'toucinho,' German 'grieben'—and each culture discovered independently that rendering pork fat creates both a delicious snack and the raw material for cooking fat, then named it after the sound it makes!
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