# Cracklins vs skins. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690 "2007-10-14T17:12:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/1 "2007-10-14T17:12:52Z")
When I was a kid growing up in Bakersfield we ate several versions of pork rind we called cracklins, pork rinds, or pork shins. Some were kinda hard, some puffy and crispy but not really hard, and some had what in my memory looked like a piece of skin attached. The latter were popular among the mexican community (and us) and were calles chicharones. I think they were a side product of rendering pork fat for lard. Mmm. fresh lard. Junior Johnsons [website](http://www.juniorjohnson.org/html/Product_listings.asp?OKCategory=Food) lists skins and cracklins separately. Any culinary mavens out there know the details of these similar foods? I expect to hear from some of you southerners who eat the spicy kind like candy. 😛 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/2 "2007-10-14T19:04:35Z")
IME, rinds tend to be puffy & crispy while cracklins tend to be hard. And _chicarones_ can mean “pork ribs”. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/3 "2007-10-14T19:47:42Z")
I think the rinds are the subcutaneous fat layer removed from the skin, while the skins or chiccharones are, well… the actual skin with or without that fat layer. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/4 "2007-10-14T23:11:26Z")
Pork skins don’t have the SQ layer of fat, and are light and puffy, and cracklin’s have fat, so are smaller in size, and crunchier. The skins, as a commercial snack, get eaten right out of the bag, much like Cheetos in their puffy crunchiness. Cracklins aren’t as easy on the teeth, but get added to cornbread to add flavor, and do get eaten as snacks. From the[Memphis King of Pork Skin Snacks](http://www.firsttennessee.com/index.cfm?Fuseaction=ExecutiveHighlightsNewsletter.ViewContent&Item=SnackKing): > [@](#): > > As for what makes a good pork rind, a lot of it has to do with the flavor and the texture. You can get a range of those things all over the board with pork rinds. We try to zero in on smoke level and fat level on the skin. For pork rinds you want no fat on the skin, and for cracklins you want a quarter of an inch of fat on the skin. When the fat cooks down, it’s about an eighth of an inch. I didn’t know this bit of pork rind wisdom until a gentleman lunching at a Wilco Mini-Mart right of the I-40, 15 years ago, told me, after I asked him why he was putting his bag of pork rinds in the microwave: “Well, you know, it brings back the Flavor that was lost.” Words to live by, yep. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/5 "2007-10-14T23:34:30Z")
Mangetout, my edit window disappeared as I ducked out to cook me some good corn chowder; I’d meant to add that you get Way Bonus Southern Props for linking to Jr Johnson brand pork skin products. Bagged snack pork rinds and cracklin’s have always been on the mini mart racks here. Lately, the infusion of Hispanic immigrants have caused the regular Southern brand suppliers to offer new flavors, like Jalapeno, or Lime. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/6 "2007-10-15T16:15:17Z")
I am no expert by ANY stretch… Cracklin’s, rinds, and chiccharones, to me, are the same. When I lived on the East coast, they were pork rinds. When I moved to the West coast, they became either Pork Cracklin’s (Frito Lay Brand) or Chiccharones (El Mexicano and others). They are MUCH more popular in the Central Valley of CA, where there is a VERY large Mexican immigrant population. I sorta like them, despite the pure fat content… Joe ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/7 "2007-10-15T17:40:37Z")
[QUOTE=wheresgeorge04] I am no expert by ANY stretch… Cracklin’s, rinds, and chiccharones, to me, are the same. When I lived on the East coast, they were pork rinds. When I moved to the West coast, they became either Pork Cracklin’s (Frito Lay Brand) or Chiccharones (El Mexicano and others). They are MUCH more popular in the Central Valley of CA, where there is a VERY large Mexican immigrant population. I sorta like them, despite the pure fat content… Joe [/QUOTE] Yeah, they’re also very popular in Bakersfield, where there’s a VERY large southerner population. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/8 "2007-10-15T22:25:01Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Yeah, they’re also very popular in Bakersfield, where there’s a VERY large southerner population. [/QUOTE] Yeah. I lived in Woodlake, near Visalia - almost exactly between Fresno and Bakersfield. I worked at a gas station there, and the two most popular chip SKUs there were Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Flamin’ Hot Pork Cracklin’s. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/9 "2007-10-16T18:42:27Z")
Ever had fresh chicharrones? Here they’re a strip of skin with fat and a bit of meat attached, grilled (or whatever) to perfection. I bet anyone who samples the fare of the one little market we go to in the Mission will never, ever go back to dry/packaged. 😃 They’re like God’s super-bad-for-you snack. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/10 "2007-10-16T20:17:41Z")
[QUOTE=Viridiana] Ever had fresh chicharrones? Here they’re a strip of skin with fat and a bit of meat attached, grilled (or whatever) to perfection. I bet anyone who samples the fare of the one little market we go to in the Mission will never, ever go back to dry/packaged. 😃 They’re like God’s super-bad-for-you snack. [/QUOTE] Specifics, please. Store name and location. You might be sorry you told me, neighbor. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/11 "2007-10-16T21:25:28Z")
[QUOTE=Viridiana] Ever had fresh chicharrones? Here they’re a strip of skin with fat and a bit of meat attached, grilled (or whatever) to perfection. [/QUOTE] That’s what I was referring to earlier. A rotisserie chicken place that’s about halfway between my job and home has them on the menu, except it’s pork rib meat, sometimes boneless, always with a bit of fat, and no skin that I’m aware of. ¡Delicioso! ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/12 "2007-10-16T22:21:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Viridiana > > Ever had fresh chicharrones? My wife and I both love Cuban food. A few years ago when we were still in NJ we found a Cuban restaurant in Somerville and tried it out. We ordered the chicharrones and they were very fresh. \*Very \* fresh. So fresh that I plucked a piece of the snout out of the basket and it still had whiskers attached. ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/13 "2007-10-17T01:47:52Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever looked at the name 😛 But it’s at 24th and…Alabama? (5-6 blocks down from Mission) I think there’s a restaurant in the actual store, but the chicharrones are sold right out front at the entrance, through a window. Mmm, deeelicious fatty meats. I see hairs and follicles every once in a while, a bit unsettling…but whiskers? Ewww! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/14 "2007-10-17T02:20:07Z")
All of the commercial ones that I have ever known are called pork cracklins. I am from the South but they aren’t even that hard to find in convenience stores in the Boston area so someone besides me is eating them. For that matter, someone besides me is eating Tijuana Mama and Firecracker processed meat waste pickled and heavily spiced pickled sausages. I have never met another person (up here) that has admitted to eating more than a one bite of any of them yet they are in every gas station and convenience store. I am not a big eater but all of those are some of the finest eating on earth. There are many people that apparently have a guilty habit. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/15 "2007-10-17T02:27:13Z")
[QUOTE=Viridiana] I don’t think I’ve ever looked at the name 😛 But it’s at 24th and…Alabama? (5-6 blocks down from Mission) I think there’s a restaurant in the actual store, but the chicharrones are sold right out front at the entrance, through a window. Mmm, deeelicious fatty meats. I see hairs and follicles every once in a while, a bit unsettling…but whiskers? Ewww! [/QUOTE] Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/16 "2007-10-17T02:32:43Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] All of the commercial ones that I have ever known are called pork cracklins. I am from the South but they aren’t even that hard to find in convenience stores in the Boston area so someone besides me is eating them. For that matter, someone besides me is eating Tijuana Mama and Firecracker processed meat waste pickled and heavily spiced pickled sausages. I have never met another person (up here) that has admitted to eating more than a one bite of any of them yet they are in every gas station and convenience store. I am not a big eater but all of those are some of the finest eating on earth. There are many people that apparently have a guilty habit. [/QUOTE] Sound like the story of spam? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/17 "2007-10-17T02:42:17Z")
The stuff you get bagged in the store around here are known as Pork rinds. They aren’t very substantial and an argument could be made that they are a fairly healthy snack in suggested serving sizes. Really you get a very satisfying, meaty, crunchy, snack that seems highly substantial to the eye, but is mostly air. Probably good for your joints, too. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cracklins-vs-skins/422690/18 "2007-10-17T20:40:12Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] For that matter, someone besides me is eating Tijuana Mama and Firecracker processed meat waste pickled and heavily spiced pickled sausages. [/QUOTE] Now my mouth’s watering for a Tijuana Mama.