What did I do wrong in making cracklings-please help

[Royalslover]

So I finally scored some pork skin to make cracklings. At the end of my process they were VERY crunchy, as in break your teeth crunchy. I followed Micheal Symon's recipe in his book about fire-the name escapes me at the moment. Here's what I did. 1-boiled for about an hour and a half. He says to boil until the skin is soft and gelatinous which I did. The I cooled them off and scraped as much meat and fat off as possible. Then I baked them for about 3 hours. I put them back in the fridge and fried them later. I can see the potential but they were way to crispy. I'm wondering if I didn't just bake them too long. Any thoughts?

 

[BuffaloDave]

hmmm. You may have just fried them too long? They should only need to fry for under 1 min.

I'm a fan of skin on belly- so easy to get great cracklin on it.

 

[Big Andy]

Maybe some of the Cajuns will respond soon, they make great cracklins down there. I have been wanting to try myself, but never found a recipe or video that I could say was the right way. Good luck.

 

[cowgirl]

It sounds like you are trying to make pork rinds, or chicharrones, not cracklin's.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=245711&highlight=cracklins

After boiling and scraping, I dehydrate the skins in the oven overnight, before frying. They turn out light and crisp.

Maybe the 3 hour bake was not long enough.


Edited to add...
Cracklins are the bits of meat you get when you render lard. Start with a pot of cubed fat, add a bit of water to keep the fat and bits from burning as they render down on low heat. The water evaporates and you end up with a pot of good lard.
The cracklins float to the top. I drain the cracklin's on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
I use them in cornbread or sprinkle them on top of just about anything. They are amazing.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=178866&highlight=cracklins

 

[cowgirl]

My local grocery store sells fresh chicharrones, fried pork bellies and other goodies by the pound. Goes great with their fresh salsa. :grin:

 

[Swine Spectator]

Agree with Cowgirl, it sounds like you are making pork rinds, not cracklin's. It's been a while since I've made them so I'm going from memory. I prefer cubed pork bellies but backfat with skin is ok too. First step, make sure you have 12 cold beers on hand. Then start low and slow...at one time I'd use a little water but later started using veg oil instead...a cup or two if you're using a large pot. Render slowly, stirring every so often, making sure they don't stick to the pot or start to sear. Try to keep any buildup (gratin) from forming on the sides and bottom of the pot....scrape with metal paddle if needed. I'd slowly bring up the temp to around 200 deg, which by then most of the fat should be rendered. This can take a few hours, depending on batch size. Then remove the cracklin's and let them cool. It is best if you can give them 30-60 minutes to drop to room temp. Then strain the grease/oil then crank up the fire to around 375 deg, making sure not to go above 390 or so. If it starts smoking then you may be above 400. Flash fry the cracklin's 3-6 minutes or so and remove to absorbent tray. Sprinkle with seasoning while there hot. I like using Slap Ya Mama and occasionally run it through a grinder/blender to make it slightly finer consistency. Let the cracklin's cool a bit before serving them. When cooked perfectly, they're still a bit chewy when warm. There's an old Cajun wise tale that eating hot cracklin's will give you "the poo-poos". I find they're best room temp. Allow yourself several hours for the total process and try not to rush.

Here's a good video but he's using back fat w/skin:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc2rlBNZuL4

 

[LYU370]

Not sure, maybe you didn't dry them long enough, or maybe you didn't fry them long enough. I throw them into my dehydrator until they are as hard as a rock, usually overnight. After you drop them into the hot oil, it may seem like they are just frying & frying, but then suddenly POOF! Chicharrones!

 

[Inthewoods]

Like Miss Lady, that's how I make bear cracklings...which is simply just a byproduct of making lard. Something ta snack on since it's a bit of a process.

-D

 

[Royalslover]

Hmmm, thanks for the response. I'm still a little confused as to the difference between these different snacks. I checked out the thread that Jeannie posted and that will be my next effort.

 

[Royalslover]

Jeanie, what particular sort of fat did you use for your cracking recipe? I have a bunch of skin with a half inch of fat on it. I also have a bunch of fat that I bought to mix in with lean pork to make sausage. I don't know what part of the pig it came from-the butcher just said all over. Would either of these work for cracklings?

 

[Swine Spectator]

Here's the Cracklin Scoring system used by the good folks over at CracklinTrail.com