HOMEMADE. PORK. CRACKLINS. Do I have your attention yet? Calling all Paleo / Atkins / Baked-not-fried / I-Love-Snacks people and Secret Pork Rind Lovers: I MADE PORK RINDS. I know, right? WE CAN MAKE PORK RINDS.
Here’s the kicker: Mine are baked. BAKED. How can this be? Delicious crunchy pork rinds that are BAKED? Done and DONE!
One of the bonuses of getting pork from Patrice at Double R Farms, who supplies heritage Berkshire pork through my local farmer’s market, is that she can have things most people don’t want. Pork skin is one of those things. I was THRILLED to find out she had a package of pork skin that was removed from the hog in processing, just waiting to be made into something delicious. Lots of things to do with pork skin. Wrap it around an otherwise lean pork loin roast and bake it to crispy brown perfection, for example. Or MAKE PORK CRACKLINS.
I am using a lot of all caps today, does that demonstrate how excited I am about this?
For those folks who haven’t ever had pork cracklin/rinds besides what comes out of a snack chips bag, here’s what they are: pork rinds are the skin of the hog and a small amount of the fat layer under the skin, cooked until the fat is rendered out and they puff up. Usually, these are deep-fried, either in oil or in pork fat/lard. The ones in a bag from the grocery sometimes have preservatives and stuff on them to keep them fresh longer, it all depends by brand.
As bad for us as those are/seem to be, they’re also pretty darned yummy. John loves them as a “travel snack,” and we always have a small bag in the car when we take a road trip (or stop at a truck stop along the way and get some). That’s really the only time we let ourselves have them, because DEEP FRIED PORK FAT.
Here’s the downside: commercial pork rinds are made from commercially-farmed pigs. Commercially-farmed pigs are given hormones, antibiotics, and other medicines, and eat stuff pigs aren’t really supposed to eat. All the bad mojo from all those things gets stored in a pig’s fat, which the snack companies first render off the skin and then use it to fry the rinds in. You could be getting snacks fried up in a big ol’ vat of livestock meds and hormones. YUM, right?
I knew there must be a way to bake up a healthier version of the crispy pork rinds, using pastured pork (which doesn’t have all that processed crap in its fat, just superhealthy pork fat high in Omega 3). It had to be simple, because when I bake a roast with skin-on, I end up with delicious cracklin after the roasting. I just had to make it happen with skin only.
I did it! The baked pork cracklins turned golden brown, rendered out nearly all the fat, and got puffy, crunchy and delicious. A quick sprinkle of salt and some seasoning made them extra delicious. I’m going to feel much better about having cracklins from time to time, knowing I make them myself and I know what is (and is not) in them. Here’s how easy it is:
After one hour in the oven:
After two hours in the oven:
After three hours in the oven:
Ask at your grocery, at your butcher, at your farmer’s market, or ask a farmer — pork skin isn’t something that everyone in the world wants to buy, but I bet you’ll find a source because pork comes from hogs, and hogs have skin. It’s an inevitable part of the “making pork chops” process. Worse comes to worse, there’s got to be an online source for good pork and things like pork skin. Google “Pastured Pork Rind” and “Pastured Pork Skin,” maybe you’ll find a source close to you or one that will ship! We can find just about everything on the interwebs, right?
Then make cracklins!
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 1 big bowl for sharing | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 3.5 hours |
|
|
|
|
A super-simple recipe for baked pork rinds (baked pork cracklins) that you can make at home and skip the processed snack aisle!
|
- Fresh Pork Skin with some fat on Best if this comes from locally-raised hogs or hogs from a small farm, but ask your butcher if they have any or know a source.
- salt
- black pepper
- seasonings you like Mexican, Italian, BBQ, garlic powder, onion powder, pretty much you name it.
- Large, very sharp knife SHARP. Sharp sharp sharp.
- Meat tenderizer tool or sturdy fork
- Large roasting pan
- Roasting rack
- Tongs
- Squeeze-bulb turkey baster
- Lay out your pork skin, fat-side-up. If it is larger than your roasting pan or roasting rack, cut it to size carefully with your very sharp knife. Pork skin is tough, so work carefully.
- Using the same sharp knife, trim fat from the skin until there is an even layer of pork fat around 1/4" thick all over the sheet of skin.
- Using your sturdy fork, or meat tenderizer (with sharp prongs), prick the fat side of the pork skin as you would a pie crust. Poke hard. This will help the fat render evenly and will help the skin crisp evenly.
- Season the fat side of the skin liberally with salt and black pepper, then flip it to skin-side-up. Pat the skin dry with paper towels and sprinkle the skin with salt, rubbing it in with your hands. This will help draw moisture out of the rinds as they bake, and will help with the puffing.
- Lay the pork skin/rinds, fat-side-down, on the rack in your roasting pan. If they hang off the edges of the rack, make sure you tuck them in so any melting fat drips into the pan. The skin will shrink substantially upon baking.
- Roast for 2.5-3.5 hours at 325 degrees F. Check about every hour. Tap the skin with tongs for crispness -- you may have to rearrange them mid-roast if your rack is angled like mine was -- I found the edges of the cracklin at the "bottom" of the V rack wasn't crisping as fast as the "top" edge, so I turned them halfway through and that solved it. I assume the fat was rendering and collecting a little at the bottom edge, keeping it from getting fully crunchy. This picture is the pork skin after one hour -- don't be surprised if it curls at first, it will flatten again as it roasts.
- After the first 2 hours, it's a good idea to remove the rendered pork fat from the bottom of the pan with a bulb-style turkey baster. Suck the fat out and put it into a heat-resistant container (it's HOT HOT FAT) and then carefully dispose of it when it cools a little.
- When the cracklin has shrunk, is golden brown, and is uniformly hard and crunchy when you tap it with tongs, it's done. Remove it from the oven and immediately re-season it with some salt and any seasonings you like.
- Let the pork cracklins cool for 5-10 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, turn them fat-side-up and carefully start to cut/break them into pieces using your very sharp knife. Throw them in a bowl, taste for seasoning, and feel free to season them more and toss them in the bowl if needed.
- We had ours with chile powder, garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper, and we also tried them with some Louisiana-style hot sauce dribbled over top of them. They stayed crunchy and held up to the liquid sauce, so they'd be a great choice for dipping, too! Enjoy!
It is best to use the skin and fat from pastured hogs in this recipe, rather than commercially-raised/supermarket hogs. Hogs and other animals store toxins, medicines, hormones, antibiotics and chemicals in their fat layers, so any bad things a commercially-raised hog eats could be passed along in the fat that is connected to the skin.
Organic or pastured hogs will not have this problem, and their fat is actually healthier than canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, butter, margarine, or shortening. It is high in Omega 3's and has less saturated fat than butter.
Pastured hog lard has 20 percent less saturated fat than butter; it's higher in monounsaturated fats which are said to lower LDL cholesterol; and it has zero trans fat. It is high in Omega 3 fatty acids and is an excellent source of Vitamin D because happy hogs have been out in the sunshine. There's a reason our grandparents grew up eating it and didn't suffer ill effects.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for posting. I’m interested in this. I did an oven roast at the skin side turned out very hard an inedible – I think it just hardened and never broke down. Trying 30 minute boil, plus 8 hours at 170 with fat side up (to glaze the skin side?), then pan fry this time. Cracklins seem difficult to make!
Hi Michelle,
Just found this recipe after boiling my organic pork skin for 2 hours first. Couldn’t find the recipe again that gave these instructions but this one came up while I was searching. I will try your method next time. The first time I cooked pork skins I did it in the oven at a higher temperature but it was very hard and tough. Not like crackling at all. I’m hoping this lot will turn out better.