[hummingmom]

I have a pork skin that's thawed in the fridge, and I'm trying to decide what to do with it. I found a delicious looking Sicilian recipe -- pork skin roll-ups with a breadcrumb and cheese stuffing, simmered in tomato sauce -- but we can't have tomatoes.

Pork rinds or cracklings would be an obvious choice, although I'm not sure of the best way to make them. One recipe recommends roasting the skin at 375 for 10 minutes. Another recommends baking it at 325 for a couple of hours. Or you can use the stovetop, but that sounds like more fuss and mess than I'm up for right now.

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Also, how much do you think the nutrients would be damaged by high-heat cooking? I know cracklings are traditional (and tasty), but I really don't want to destroy all the amino acids in the skin. It's not something I cook very often, and I'd like to get the maximum benefit from it.

 

[cristeen]

I prefer the low heat cooking for pork skin. High heat tends to burn too quickly for me. I usually get the skin with fat attached and render the lard, and the cracklins are a bonus once I'm done.

 

[hummingmom]

Thanks for the advice.

I think I'm going to go with simmering this time around, as I can't face the idea of a messy roasting pan on a weeknight. I found a Vietnamese recipe that's really simple. You roll up a piece of pig skin and tie it with string, then simmer it in water for 8-10 minutes. Then you let it cool, slice it, and add it to other dishes. It's commonly used as part of the filling in spring rolls, but I'll probably just do a stir-fry type thing with veggies and ground pork.

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The extra sliced skin can be frozen in single-meal quantities. Apparently, they sell this stuff ready-made in the freezer section of Asian grocery stores. Something I never noticed!

 

[Junegoddess]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hummingmom The extra sliced skin can be frozen in single-meal quantities. Apparently, they sell this stuff ready-made in the freezer section of Asian grocery stores. Something I never noticed!

Okey dokey, on my list for today: get my hiney over to the Asian grocery for pork skin...

I wonder if it's something that might have other ingredients?? I can't read Chinese, but am allergic to lots of things...