Pork skins/rinds/chiharones recommendations please!

IamUndrCnstruction

So I bought some chicarones (pork rinds) the other day as I really wanted something crunchy. I was NOT a fan of these. I could see where maaaybe I could like them, but the ones I got were so crunchy as to be painful. Does anyone have a favorite brand??

Sabine_Stroehm

I may be in the minority, but I look for the ones with no MSG. But MSG seems to cause me headaches....

Mistizoom

Different brands may be better, so try another. Pork Clouds by Bacon 's Heir (IIRC) are guaranteed to be all "fluffy" (crunchy not hard). But they are expensive and fried in olive oil (why not lard I do not know), and as far as I know only available online. No MSG even in the flavors though. I haven't seen them in a while but I think the Frito-Lay pork rinds (Bakenettes?) are pretty "fluffy" as well.

chrisb22

I like Mac's in the green bag from WallyWorld. They are crunchy and not puffy at all. Some have a little extra fat attached. Mmmm. I don't think they are too hard to eat. Every now & then you do find a piece that is hard to eat. They also have the curls style too. I am not a fan of the fluffy ones and hate the ones that are too hard. These Mac's are on the harder side but not enough to take away from the experience. Also, these are unflavored if that matters.

GrannyMayOz

I've only bought pork rinds once. Whilst I really liked them there was an unpleasant after-taste. On reading the packet (half way through eating them) I found that they were cooked in vegetable oil. Why????????

sbom1

The only brand I can get here (Hawaii) that doesn't have MSG is Mission. I like them personally either plain or dipped in guac or my new fav: mix some Franks Hot Sauce in Tillamook premium sour cream and dip away!

snarlingcoyote

I just buy Baken-ets from Frito Lay at the gas station. Salt and vinegar is my favorite flavor.

KnitOrMiss

I don't know about the crunch factor, but I get burned out on the flavored ones after about a serving. Much happier with the basic salt and pepper...I bet the salt and vinegar would be tasty though!

sweetteadrinker2

Mission is really good, I like the plain ones. Rarely is there a super hard one, light and fluffy usually.

Alliwan

I like the ones from Aldi. We raise and butcher a pig every year and their cracklin is very hard, so I usually only use it in the place of bread crumbs. Aldi's Clancy version are very puffy and tasty, i think they have flavored ones too but I like the plain. Dipped in ranch or guac or something they are very good.

Lrdoflamancha

We like the BBQ flavor from WalMart... I think they are Mission.

stillonamission

I buy the food lion brand, there are a couple of hard ones per bag, but I don't think they are that bad. I never paid attention to how they were made. My absolute favorite are salt and vinegar.

SOOZIE429

SO GOOD! I'm not a fan of the regular flavor, but these are great.

GaleHawkins

I keep a bag or two of plain ones in the trunk of the car for those times I am short on time and do not want to show up hungry and eat junk. The favored ones have too many chems for my body.

IamUndrCnstruction

Thanks! I will look for some of these. And try dipping in ranch dressing, THAT sounds good!

TheSatinPumpkin

Recently discovered Utz Pork Rinds barrels at local Sams Club and love them. Initially i was only gonna use them to crush and batter my protein but ended up chowing down not 1 but 2 18oz barrels in a weekend. Gained 20+lbs. Mostly water retention as i lost the excess in about a week. Now i limit myself to 2-3oz shared w/ 2oz of cheese on Sat Night.

Mistizoom

TheSatinPumpkin wrote: »

Recently discovered Utz Pork Rinds barrels at local Sams Club and love them. Initially i was only gonna use them to crush and batter my protein but ended up chowing down not 1 but 2 18oz barrels in a weekend. Gained 20+lbs. Mostly water retention as i lost the excess in about a week. Now i limit myself to 2-3oz shared w/ 2oz of cheese on Sat Night.

I have bought those before. They were good but I had trouble using them all before they went bad. That's when I discovered pork rind "bread" pudding and Dana Carpender's Cocoa Peanut Porkies.

TheSatinPumpkin

Might give that a try. thanks so much for the link. Also found a link to porkrinds pancakes that i am going to give a whirl.

lowcarber87

I wad just in Hawaii and I I had the mission ones but here in Aus I can't find any anywhere :-(

tmdalton849

i love the super hard crunchy ones from the mexican market (can't remember the brand) but the mission ones are good too, and much more "fluffy."

i can't do the flavored ones because msg makes me horribly sick.