I saw an ad for pork ‘panko breadcrumbs’, a keto alternative to… well, panko breadcrumbs. I assume they’re meant as a coating. But could I smash up a bag of Baken-Ets, and successfully use a cup of them in a meatloaf instead of real breadcrumbs?
Leaving aside my opinion that it sounds disgusting, I wonder about the ability of ground up fried pork rinds to absorb moisture and soften up. I have the image of meatloaf laced with Grape-Nuts.
0 carbs. Nice!
I can’t directly answer that question. But I can say that I use a “breading” made from almonds that is remarkably tasty and works very well as a coating for chicken, fish, pork, etc. And of course is zero carb.
I’ve never tried it as meatloaf stretcher. But I could imagine it working. If your “pork panko” ideas fall through, give this a try:
The key ingredients, almond meal and almond flour, are both sold by Trader Joes in convenient ~1# packages. I make a big batch of the coating and leave it in a large tupper in the freezer. Then just take out a couple cups, break up any lumps with a small whisk, and “bread” whatever’s for dinner tonight. Super easy.
I know you were making a metaphor, but Grape-nuts aren’t bad as a meatloaf filler or hamburger spreader. If you roll or smash the Grape-Nuts into more of a beach-sand coarse powder than little nodules, it works great. Really. It’s grain; you just need to get the surface area large enough so it can absorb & soften in the cooking time available.
I think these are important distinctions when cooking.
The pork Panko in a meatloaf would serve a different purpose than a coating which (usually) we want to be crunchy.
I do not think the pork Panko for meatloaf is ideal.
I do hope the OP conducts an experiment on this and lets us know. I’d be very interested in the results.
Do it for science!
Why not? Breadcrumbs aren’t crunchy in meatloaf.
I make meatloaf two at a time: Two pounds of ground beef, and one pound of ground pork. Freeze one for later. It might be an expensive experiment. Maybe I could try it in a meatball.
ETA: @Whack-a-Mole
I suspect that actual bread-based panko would work 100% fine in meatloaf. I agree with you that I’m skeptical about the pork-based stuff, whether the OP’s product or his planned substitute. Which I why I offered a completely different idea as a plan B for after the IMO likely pork disappointment.
I suspect the “pork panko” product has had some weird science applied to it that will make it more compatible with meatloaf than something homemade created from bacon bits. Be they pork bacon or TVP “bacon”.
In each case we’re using the stuff well off its design point. It’ll either be amazing, meh, or yecch!
Onward to the laboratory kitchen me hearties! We must do this for Science!
@Kent_Clark said it above…
Panko is an outside breading thing that lends a good crunch to the meat. That is not what you want with meatloaf. The bread is incorporated to the mixture and helps bind the loaf. Different things.
But who knows? Maybe pork Panko would be an amazing thing with meatloaf. Never know unless you try. I don’t think it will work well but there is a good chance I am wrong.
And yeah, the test might be a little pricey. Science is not cheap. 
I use panko in my meatloaf all the time (I usually make meatloaf about once a week.) It works 100% fine. It’s the fried part of the pork rinds that I think might be moisture-resistant.
I make it maybe three or four times a year!
C’mon, can we please just call it Porko?
mmm
My kitchen skills are pretty limited.
Even so, I don’t want to experiment with pork rind panko.
So we’ve got a couple of different questions, so I’ll give my opinion on the differing options.
- Porko crumbs makes some sense as a coating. I’ve done low carb, and used crushed pork rinds as a coating in place of panko, in combination with fine almond flour. The combo did a good job of both covering (flour) and adding to the crunch (rinds). But, as with most things low carb, you’re trading likely additional calories of fat (just by nature of the ingredients) to reduce the carbs, so you still need to watch it. The other issue is that commercial pork rinds have a fuckton of sodium, so perhaps not the best alternative. The OP listing shows 14 grams of the coating has 90 calories and 380mg of sodium (13% of your daily intake). Meanwhile Kikkoman Panko breadcrumbs have (at 15grams) 55 calories, and 20mg of sodium (1% of your daily intake).
Low carb or not, for me at least, it’d be a no-brainer in which option to pick, but if I was diabetic, and didn’t have sodium / blood pressure issues, maybe it’d be a good idea.
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Would Porko crumbs work well for meatloaf? Well, again the issues above would apply, but I guess part depends on what you’re using the crumbs for. Porko probably adds a bit more flavor, but if it’s fried in any way, is likely to be less absorptive than default breadcrumbs as mentioned by @Kent_Clark. If it’s more about mixing in something to change the texture, and staying low carb, I’d probably use coarse almond meal or coarse parmesan cheese crumbles.
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Baken-Ets or some other pork rinds crushed to the right consistency are probably (with caveats) the better option than the Porko crumbs culinarily, even if your pre-crushed option seems a touch cheaper. The reason I feel that way is for the exterior breading option, I want something with a coarser texture, the Amazon image looks a bit too finely ground for my preferences. If you’re crushing yourself, you control that element. But, your Porko crumbs are a bit cheaper (if still damn pricy at $0.96/oz [$15.36 lb!]) and list nothing but pork rinds and salt. Far to many Baken-Ets have various food colorings and dyes which I’d prefer to avoid, and probably the cheapest version of spices that I’d also like to control when it comes to flavor options.
Still, when I was doing low carb + portion control for weight loss [extra emphasis] I couldn’t justify faux fried foods often. As I pointed out above, it added a LOT of extra calories compared to something like a grilled option, and I’d normally prefer more food calories than coating calories. If I had different health conditions requiring me to minimize carbs and not caring as much about calories or fat, the product makes a decent amount of sense. But high calories, high fat, AND high sodium seems to be too many issues to ignore. YMMV.