Pork rind
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pork rind is the cooked skin of a pig. This may be either eaten warm with a meal, or served cold as a snack. In both forms some fat is commonly still attached to the skin.
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[edit] Pork rind as a snack
When used as a snack food chunks or pellets of the cured pork skin (sometimes including portions of meat and/or hair as well) is deep-fried and puffed into light, irregular curls, and often seasoned with chilli pepper or barbecue flavoring.
Microwavable pork rinds are sold which pop like popcorn and can be eaten still warm. Pickled pork rinds, on the other hand, are often enjoyed refrigerated and cold. Unlike the crisp and fluffy texture of fried pork rinds, pickled pork rinds are very rich and buttery, much like foie gras. Unfried pork rind is also processed into colorful and appealing shapes for use as fish bait.
In the Southern United States, pork rinds carry less social stigma, whereas elsewhere they are often poorly regarded due to their origins, high fat content and perceived crudeness as a snack. When he was in the White House, U.S. President George H. W. Bush said that pork rinds were his favorite snack.
[edit] Health issues
There is some interest in pork rinds as a healthy snack food due to the Atkins diet, since pork rinds contain no carbohydrates (unless flavored). They are, however, high in fat and sodium, and generally may be considered more delicious than healthy to those who enjoy them. In fact, the fat content of pork rinds is similar to that of potato chips, and the amount of sodium in a serving of pork rinds is nearly five times of that within a serving of potato chips. For example, a 14 gram serving of Utz Regular Pork Rinds contains 5 g of fat and 230 mg of sodium, whereas the same serving of Utz Regular Potato Chips contains 4.5 g of fat and 47 mg of sodium. Pork rinds generally contain 8 g of protein in a 14 g serving, more than any food except dried meats such as jerky. The fat content of jerky, however, is much lower. Microwaveable pork rinds are lower in fat than the deep-fried variety, with only 2 g of fat per 14 g serving and no saturated fat, although the sodium level may be as high as 350 mg per serving. The high protein content of pork rinds makes them more nutritious than some low-fat snack foods, such as fat-free pretzels.
[edit] Origin
The consensus of opinion is that pork scratchings originated in the Black Country area of the West Midlands, in England. It would seem that pork scratchings were very much a food of the working classes which have their origin in the 1800s when it was produced as part of the tradition of families keeping their own pig at home and feeding it up for slaughter.
In modern times the fine layer of hair is removed from the skin by burning; however this is not completely effective and some pieces still have the hair attached. Some people prefer the rind to have the hair attached.
Butchers started selling pork scratchings in the 1930s, and more recently a product called pork crunch has been developed, in which much of the fat is scraped off, resulting in a lower-fat, softer alternative.
[edit] Variations
[edit] Canada
Scrunchions is a Newfoundland term for small pieces of pork rind or pork fat-back fried until rendered and crispy. They are often used as a flavoring over other foods, such as salt fish and potatoes. It is mainly used as a condiment for fish and brewis. [1][2]
[edit] United Kingdom
Pork Crackling is the British name for the salted crunchy pork rind produced when roasting a joint of pork. This is eaten whilst still hot and served with a traditional Sunday roast dinner. The heat of the oven causes the fatty pork skin to dry, bubble up and become crunchy. The layer of fat underneath is retained, and can be eaten with the skin or removed.
Pork Scratchings is the British name for deep fried salted crunchy pork rind with fat produced separately from the meat. This is then eaten cold.
Pork Scratchings are typically heavy, hard and have a crispy layer of fat under the skin, some still retain the hair of the pig, and are flavoured only with salt. The pig hair is usually removed by quickly burning the skin of the pig before it is cut into pieces and cooked in hot fat. Hair removal is not 100% effective which is why some retain a few hairs. The hairs are what usually makes people question the desirability of these pub snacks, but to some, these can also be highly desirable.
In the United Kingdom, pork cracklings or pork scratchings and are sold as a snack food in the same way pork rinds are in the USA. Unlike the physically large, but relatively light bags of 'deep fried fatless skin' sold around the world, in the UK they are sold in relatively small bags which usually weigh between 42g and 90g. Traditionally they are eaten as an accompaniment to a pint of beer in a pub, just like crisps or peanuts, but can also be bought from supermarkets.
They have been popular in the UK and especially in the Black Country since the days when every family used to fatten up a "tunkey pig" (This is a pig fattened especially for Christmas), then slaughter it for meat and slice the skin with the fat into strips which they would then deep fry.
[edit] United States
Cracklings is the American name for pork rind produced by frying or roasting, though it can be expanded to include the skin of a goose or another animal.
As a snack, cracklings is usually understood to consist of cooked pork rind that has had salt rubbed into it and that has been scored with a sharp knife. This produces a crisp, bubbly outer surface with a layer of cooked fat on the underside. Crackling is considered by some to be an essential part of joint of roast pork. However, the term in cooking also applies to a variety of fatty materials, fried to crispness, such as poultry skin or the remains of trying out for fat of a number of animal products [beef, lamb, et cetera].
In the USA, cracklin is a fried piece of pork fat with a small amount of attached skin. Cracklin is generally considered to be part of soul food or Cajun cuisine. Cracklins are not frequently served as part of a regular meal unless they are served in cracklin bread, which is cornbread in which cracklins have been placed in the batter prior to its being baked or fried. Rather, they are a snack item which would typically be served at times other than regular mealtimes, and are regarded as more of a delicacy or treat.
Cracklins are naturally very high in fat and cholesterol, which is to be expected considering what they are composed of and the fact that they are generally prepared by being deep-fried or skillet-fried in lard. Cracklins prepared by persons who still conduct the home butchering of hogs, which is still occasionally conducted in the rural South but with decreasing frequency, have a decidedly different taste from those which are available commercially.
[edit] Europe
In France they are known as grattons and they are also consumed in Spain. In Portugal, they are normally on sale from stands near large popular gatherings, such as football stadiums, and are accompanied with a well chilled beer. In Denmark they are known as "flæskesvær" ("flæsk" means pork, "svær" means rind) and can be found in most grocery stores and kiosks.
[edit] Serbia
In Serbia pork rinds are called čvarci. They are not cooked but fried in a lot of fat instead, and made from pig fat but without skin attached. It is one of the oldest known Serbian dishes and most of Slavic people took this dish[citation needed]. A special kind of čvarci exists which is called duvan čvarci (lit. "tobacco cracklings"): it is made by pressing čvarci during the preparation so that at the end they have appearance of tobacco.
Čvarci are most often made during the "svinjokolj" (killing pigs for meat and fat) and most of the people who were there during and after the "svinjokolj" eat them afterwards. It is one of the most popular Serbian peasant food.
[edit] Latin America
Pork rinds are also popular in Latin America and Spain, where they are known as chicharrones (the singular form, chicharrón, is also used as a mass noun). They are eaten alone as a snack, or as the meat portion in various stews and soups, which can be eaten with cachapas, or as a stuffing in arepas, pupusas, or in a taco or gordita with salsa verde.
They are usually made with different cuts of pork, but sometimes with other meats, like poultry, beef, ram, etc. In Cuba, Puerto Rico and Venezuela chicharrones are also made with chicken and, in Argentina with beef. In these cases they are consumed mostly as snacks.
The cueritos type is a Mexican snack. It is made with pork skins and marinated in vinegar instead of being deep fried. They are eaten as a snack.
In México and the USA, snack-food companies have commercialized a vegetarian version of the deep-fried type, with chile and lime flavorings.
[edit] Other countries
Fried pork skins go by various names in Filipino cuisine like chicharon from the Spanish word chicharrones. They may be referred to by their English name "cracklings" if they contain a considerable portion of meat. Another form of crackling in the Philippines, chicharron manok, is made from seasoned chicken skin fried in its own rendered fat. Usually, pork rinds are eaten to absorb the sourness of Filipino "stoups" like sinigang or paksiw.
[edit] External links
- The Online Pork Rind Resource
- Utz Snacks nutritional information (contains information for pork rinds and many other snack foods)
- Hairy Bar Snacks Pictures of Packs & Scratchings, Reviews, Bars, Links & more...
- Pork Scratching World
