Healthy Pork Rinds

[AL WORRELLS KID]

(President Bush Sr. had a Favorite Snack.)
 
Homemade Cuban Chicharrones
Instructions
Preheat oven to 250F and set a wire rack over a baking sheet.
Using a very sharp knife, cut pork skin and fat into long strips, about 2 inches wide. Score the fat on each strip every two inches. Insert knife carefully between skin and fat on one end of the strip and remove a portion of the fat (you will end up with a thin layer of fat still on the skin and that is fine).
Once that first part of fat is removed, you can hold the skin in one hand as you slide the knife down the strip to remove the majority of the fat. Again, a little fat still clinging to the skin is okay.

When the fat has been removed, cut each strip into 2 inch squares and place, fat-side down, on wire rack.
Bake 3 hours, until skin is completely dried out.
Meanwhile, if you want to use the pork fat to cook your chicharrones, place it in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Cook gently until most of the fat has liquified, about 2 hours. This is also the same way you can render lard for future cooking use. Use a slotted spoon to remove any remaining solids. Discard (or eat, they taste like bacon and are great on salad!).
When baking time is up, heat oil/lard to a depth of 1/3 in the pan. Or you can just have a few inches of oil and can cook your pork rinds in batches. Oil should be quite hot but not bubbling.
Add pork rinds and cook until they bubble and puff up, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle immediately with salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes
*These counts reflect the nutrition in a serving of commercially made pork rinds because I could find no information regarding the nutrition of uncooked pork skin. They are made very similarly but would contain far less sodium since you season to taste with salt and pepper. Commercial brands add more sodium as a preservative.

Nutrition Facts
Homemade Chicharrones
Amount Per Serving (1 ounce)
Calories 152Calories from Fat 81
% Daily Value*
Fat 9g14%
Protein 17g34%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/homemade-chicharrones-pork-rinds-low-carb-and-gluten-free/

[pianoman9701]

Looks good. We use pork rinds to replace breading for fried stuff like oysters and chicken strips. It works very well.

[AL WORRELLS KID]

Great idea pianoman9701, do you just crush them up and then roll them in the pork rind crumbs after dipping the oysters in like an egg wash? 
Doug

Similar to this recipe?
Keto Fried Shrimp
Keto fried shrimp are coated in pork rinds, sprayed with oil, then baked in the oven until hot and crispy.
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
30 mins


INGREDIENTS
Olive oil cooking spray
1 large egg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
4 oz plain pork rinds, processed in food processor into crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
16 oz jumbo shrimp (21-25 per lb.), peeled and deveined, and patted dry
INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with olive oil.
In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the egg.
In another medium bowl, whisk the crushed pork rinds with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and Parmesan. Divide into two separate bowls – this will ensure the pork rind crumbs stay as dry as possible, making it easier to coat the shrimp.
Place a few shrimp at a time in the egg to coat. Allow excess egg to drip back, then roll each shrimp in the pork rind mixture.
Transfer the coated shrimp to the prepared baking sheet. Make sure they don’t touch each other.
Generously spray the shrimp with olive oil. Bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Serve the keto fried shrimp immediately.

[AL WORRELLS KID]

When it comes to cutting the Pork Skin into 2 inch bite sized pieces. My $2.50 Thrift Store Electric Craving Knife made short work of the job. 
Doug

[pianoman9701]

Great idea pianoman9701, do you just crush them up and then roll them in the pork rind crumbs after dipping the oysters in like an egg wash? 
Doug

Similar to this recipe?
Keto Fried Shrimp
Keto fried shrimp are coated in pork rinds, sprayed with oil, then baked in the oven until hot and crispy.
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
30 mins


INGREDIENTS
Olive oil cooking spray
1 large egg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
4 oz plain pork rinds, processed in food processor into crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
16 oz jumbo shrimp (21-25 per lb.), peeled and deveined, and patted dry
INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with olive oil.
In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the egg.
In another medium bowl, whisk the crushed pork rinds with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika and Parmesan. Divide into two separate bowls – this will ensure the pork rind crumbs stay as dry as possible, making it easier to coat the shrimp.
Place a few shrimp at a time in the egg to coat. Allow excess egg to drip back, then roll each shrimp in the pork rind mixture.
Transfer the coated shrimp to the prepared baking sheet. Make sure they don’t touch each other.
Generously spray the shrimp with olive oil. Bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Serve the keto fried shrimp immediately.

We take bags of pork rinds and put them in the food processor until they're crumbs. When we want something fried, like chicken strips, we do the egg wash and use the crumbs to coat. They brown up nice, either in a frying pan or a hot oven, because of their protein/fat content. If you use 2 bags of plain to one bag of hot and spicy, you don't need a lot of additional seasoning.