I've never had pork rinds, just the name sounds dubious, BUT I am looking for portable emergency type foods to have on hand & have looked in a few stores, so far no luck. OR I just didn't find them
Help

Ruth

According to Karen, Chinatown's the best place to get them.

Wa'il

I buy mine at Extra Foods (second-rate supermarket). I imagine most supermarkets should have them. They should be in with the chips.

Having said that, I've tried the ones Karen gets in Chinatown, and they're far superior.

Pork rinds seem to be an aquired taste. They're best with some sort of dip. I like mine with mustard and mayo.

For emergency supplies, I make beef jerky. I bought a dehydrator and make about a month's worth at a time. Homemade jerky is cheap, portable, filling, and tastes better than pork rinds, in my opinion.

Rachel

Rachel your idea sounds great!

Can you give any detail instructions on how to make this with a micowave or convection oven, or is it only possible with a dehydrator?

What are the preparartion requirements before you put it in the oven?

Thanks for any help you can supply

Regards
Joe

Me too! I'd like to have the recipe/instructions for beef jerky. If I'm going to LC the rest of my life it seems like a dehydrator might be required.
Ruth

Yes, Rachel, please explain how to make beef jerky. I have never bought the kind in the stores because the ingredients sound like a chemical wash. Can you tell us where to get pork rinds in Chinatown and what they are called, how they are packaged, name brand, etc.

Ruth, I find pork rinds at Superstore with the Bugles and roasted nuts. No Name - bright yellow bag. They have three flavours. Only the plain ones are carb-free. Basically they are puffy and slightly tasteless. They do help when you want to eat something salty and with a crunch. Also, I have used them, crushed, for breading. Chicken strips were pretty good.

Kay

I get pork rinds at Sunrise Market. It's on the corner of Gore and Cordova. There are two entrances, and the pork rinds are on a stand at the second entrance, furthest away from Gore. The brand is Sunasia and they are called "chicharron" which is Spanish for pork cracklings. There is another tyoe by the same company called grilled pork skin, but I find them too fatty.

The Old Dutch ones taste like styrofoam.

Karen

Hey, many thanks Kay & Karen. I'm planning a big shop ~ Superstore tonight - payday YAAAH!

Sunrise Market - I've shopped there many times & it's on the way home. So now I'm set for my venture into the gastronomic treat of pork rinds :0

Ruthie

OK, I'll post my jerky recipie in the 'recipie' section, OK? Under 'snacks.'

I use a dehydrator, though I know you can do jerky in a conventional oven (I've never done it, though, and don't know how, so I can't really help there. You can't use a microwave oven, Jomil). I bought my dehydrator for about $60 in London Drugs. You can get more expensive ones, but this one seems to do me fine.

I think that with a dehydrator it's easier to regulate the temperature, plus it's more energy-efficient than the oven. And when you add up the price (and carbs) of the store-bought jerky, it pays for itself pretty quickly.

Rachel

Thanks a million Rachel!

Will report to you about my success or otherwise.
If I cannot use my convention oven, I will resort to getting a dehydrator.
I prefer to chew on beef jerky that I have made with not much chemicals than eat pork crackling that has so much fat calories.
After all I guess reducing the aeting of fat calories must also help in weight reduction.

Regards
Joe

Hey, Joe!

Jerky is definitely leaner than pork rinds, and I prefer the taste, but pork rinds are OK too. They're not as high in fat as you might think. 18 pork rinds (30 gm, or 1/3 of a big bag) are only 175 calories (9.3 gm fat), and there's no way I can eat that many - they are FILLING! I use them for cooking sometimes or for eating out of the bag when I really want something crunchy. They're pretty good with a mayo-mustard dip, or for scooping up tuna salad (or for bringing to a party when everyone else is bringing chips!).

Let me know how the jerky comes out! I've got some marinading even as I type....

Rachel

Hi, Jomil!

Just for fun, I've checked this out. Ounce for ounce, pork rinds/skins/chicharrones (plain), have 1 less gram of fat than potato chips (plain).

Actually, 17g pf protein, 9g of fat and absolutely 0 carbs, 155 kCals. A much better deal than potato chips, for instance.

The cooking process essentially renders most of the fat out, that's why they're crispy. I use them to dip home-made tuna or egg salad, or a sour cream dip. Yum! This is where a bland flavour can be an advantage

PS: I've made jerky in a regular oven and a dehydrator. Watch to not over-dry, it's more brittle than chewy if you do. A convection oven should work just fine, because the circulating air works much the same way as a dehydrator does. If you can set it to 160F (minimum) to 170F or so, that would work well and the jerky should pretty well dry overnight. A cookie sheet or foil underneath is a good idea too!

Thanks for the info, Judi.

I once mentioned pork rinds to a friend of mine, who used to eat bags and bags of chips (she's on CAD now, so doesn't do that any more). She said, "ew, how can you eat those, they're SO GREASY!!!." I pointed out that her chips were greasier, but I don't think she ever believed me!

Granted, I still think chips TASTE better!

Rachel

LOL!

No argument, Rachel. I can only bear to eat the pork rinds plain or undipped if I'm absolutely starving!

I found a big 5 ounce bag of fresh chicharrones the last time I was in a grocery store in WA state.... goes a long way and they had a much better flavour and texture than the styrofoam version we get here from either Old Dutch or the Superstore... Downside, they were fairly expensive at 4.99US the 5 ounces (IIRC) ... and.... what's worse... I could clearly make out the shape of the enormous ears! Ew, Yuck! LOL!

I don't like the pink bits (tatoos?). Fortunately the dip covers them up!

Rachel