You can find these (or similar) in any corner grocery store or Gas & Go type place, but know that these things are mere entry-level items into world of pork rinds!

 

The real deal, the true aficionados' pork rind, the cracklin', comes from real pork skin cut up and fried in a cast iron pan into crackly deliciousness, then seasoned with salt and spices, usually some type of mild chili in the mix.

 

Even better, today, I made something I'd not done before.....I barbecued some pork skins and turned them into my backyard chicharrones!

 

Back a couple weeks ago when I made a http://foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=696&title=ppb-for-50 - Barbecue for 50 folks I saved all the skin from the 6 pork shoulders just for an occasion like this. I took two of them and seasoned them liberally with Durkee's -

 

 

I was barbecuing some Country Style Ribs (over hardwood briquettes and a mix of mesquite and hickory) and slapped these lovely sheets of pig skin on!

 

 

Kept the heat between 275 and 325 F for the duration. Wasn't too worried about the low and slow- CSR's have plenty of fat and are juicy and will cook up real nice real fast. The skin needs higher temps to render out properly, so we were good to go.

 

A little over an hour into the barbecue, the rinds were looking real nice and golden, the rub melting into the fat and the skin just as I thought it would. This looked as if it would turn out allright after all. I wanted the fat to drip out and the crispy crunchiness of the rind to remain- much different from cracklin's fried in a skillet which, unfortunatley, are greasy.

 

 

A little over two hours into the barbecue and the skin is looking perfect. Crunchy, golden and smelling wonderful.

 

 

At about 2 1/2 hours I checked the underside of the rind and just about every bit of the fat had rendered out, leaving a crispy shell. Time to pull off and cut up! The dark piece on the right I brushed with BBQ sauce during the last hour as I did the CSR's.

 

 

The barbecue-sauced piece was softer and juicier than the others, with a bit more fat remaining. It was delicious, but the true happiness was the other two sheets of rind- completely rendered, crunchy, tasty from the rub, and full of porky loveliness that we couldn't stop munching on.

 

 

Better than potatoe chips, better than store bought chicharrones, better than skillet fried cracklin's...these babies were the way to go. From now on I will make my pork rinds this way. Clean, crunchy, tasty deliciousness without all the extra greasiness from the skillet.

 

This leftover sheet went into a ziploc bag and can go into the freezer for months. It can keep in the fridge for a week or so. This particular sheet is going to go into some baked beans as wel as some collard greens next week or so. This is some good stuff.