Definition of "crackling" []

• The production of a succession of slight sharp snapping noises. (noun)
• The crisp bits that remain after rendering fat from meat or frying or roasting the skin, especially of a pig or a goose. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It was a magnificent display of the phenomenon, and I feel certain that my attention was first attracted to it by the crackling sound which appeared to accompany the motion of the pale flames as they streamed across the sky; indeed, _crackling_, is not the word that properly describes the sound I heard, which was precisely that made by the _flickering_ of blazing fire; and as I have often since read and heard discussions upon the question whether the motion of the aurora is or is not accompanied by an audible sound, I can only say that on this occasion it was the sound that first induced me to observe the sheets of white light that were leaping up the sky."
• "CRISP PORK BELLY, SWEET PEACH SALSA Ask your butcher to score the skin finely for this, as the crackling is essential."
• "In my brief testing on one phone call, the recipient reported degradation in calling quality -- "crackling" -- after the bars receded to none."