So yesterday I smoked a pork shoulder. The night before that I prepped it, and that included skinning it. I hate throwing away all of that skin, so this time I put it in a bag in the refrigerator so that I could figure out fried pork skins.
They are easy!
...and time consuming.
From what I read the difference between a pork rind (skin) and a cracklin is how much subcutaneous fat you leave on when you fry the pieces. other than that the process is similar.
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/pork-rinds-chicharron.htmlhttp://baconsheir.com/porkrindmaking.htmlI read these and other recipes while my smoker was running. Then I did this:
Cut the skin into roughly 2"x2" squares.
place skin pieces into a saucepan of water with peppercorns, salt and a couple of garlic cloves. Cover and boil for 1.5 hrs.
Cool, drain, place skins on a baking rack/sheet pan. dry overnight in the refrigerator.
Place the pan in a low oven (200f) for 3-4 hours until well rendered and skin is dry and firm.
Let cool. Use a butter knife to remove any remaining fat. Fry in an inch of hot lard until they puff up and look delicious!
They are as good as they look.
I could have dried them out on the smoker if I had read up on this before I started. Next time!