Cracklins are made from pork skin that consists of skin, fat, and meat. The pork skin is cut up into cube sized peices then dropped into hot hog lard (grease).
While both are both made with pork fat, each has a different method of cooking and a different cut of meat. To make cracklins you use a cut of pork that has the pork skin, pork fat and pork meat all attached. Pork Rinds, on the other hand, use only the pork fat. Virtually any piece of pork that has skin or fat attached to it can be used to make cracklins. Set aside to cool. As the cracklins can turn hard it is important not to overcook them. True Cajun cracklins are supposed to be very crunchy and firm to hard in texture. If you do overcook them and they become hard, they will still be edible with the same great flavor just not as easy to chew. Chitlins and Hog Maw are pig intestines and stomach. Cracklins are made from pork fat. Chitlins are also called Chitterlings and you may see them labeled that way in grocery stores. We use the terms chitlins and chitterlings interchangeably on this web site. Here's how: 1. Soak your pork chitlins (chitterlings) in cold water for 15 minutes. 2. Using your hands, one by one gently roll the chitterlings open in your hands. Use a knife and your fingers to remove any remaining fat or foreign matter from inside the chitterlings. Cracklins. CRACKLINS-Cracklins are made from pork skin that consists of skin, fat, and meat. The pork skin is cut up into cube sized peices then dropped into hot hog lard (grease).  Pork rind is the skin (rind) of a pig. Pork rind is a common ingredient of sausages, which helps to improve their consistency. Fried or roasted pork rind and fat is also a snack. The frying renders much of the fat that is attached to the uncooked rind, causing the cooked product to reduce considerably in size. Pork rinds, sometimes cracklings, is the American name for fried or roasted skins of pigs, geese or other animals, regardless of the status or amount of pork in the snack. Pieces of fried meat, skin, or membrane produced as a byproduct of rendering lard are also called cracklings. Cajun cracklings (or cracklins) from Cajun cuisine (called gratons in Louisiana French), are fried pieces of pork fat with a small amount of attached skin, flavored after frying with a mixture of peppery Cajun spices. Pork rinds, sometimes cracklings, is the American name for fried or roasted skins of pigs, geese or other animals, regardless of the status or amount of pork in the snack. Pieces of fried meat, skin, or membrane produced as a byproduct of rendering lard are also called cracklings. Chitlins and cracklins have been popular in the South for many years. Supposedly, they became popular when poor Southerners had to use every scrap of available food in order to have anything at all to eat. Anyone lucky enough to have a pig took great effort to avoid wasting any portion of it. Here's how: 1. Soak your pork chitlins (chitterlings) in cold water for 15 minutes. 2. Using your hands, one by one gently roll the chitterlings open in your hands. Use a knife and your fingers to remove any remaining fat or foreign matter from inside the chitterlings. That's 9 times the protein and less fat than you'll find in a serving of carb-packed potato chips. By the way, nowadays, footballs are made from cowhide or synthetics. Cracklins are not the same as pork rinds or pork skins which are made from just the skin of the hog (see sidebar at right). Cracklins are the skin with the layer of fat beneath. Cracklins are deeply woven in Southern culture, especially among African American and Mexican immigrants.  Ad. To make cracklins, fatty cuts of pork are first sliced into very small pieces. They usually include part of the skin, a thick layer of fat, and a small amount of meat, although meat is excluded in some regions of the world. Before the cracklins are cut, the skin is usually seared to remove any leftover hair. Once the pork has been cut up, it is lowered into a large vat that has a small layer of fat in the bottom and then cooked at a high temperature. Cracklins is simply fried bacon with the pig skin attached. Rendered completely then seasoned, at times only with salt but often with unique blends of Cajun spices. Cracklins are similar to pork rinds or pork skins with difference amounting to the extra fat and meat being attached.  Down south, cracklins are made of only the pork fat rendered down to remove the fat, which is lard, used for cooking. A true southern cook would not use pork skins to make cracklin bread! If you put pork skins in cornbread, you end up with something that seems like you are chomping on gravel! Before the cracklins are cut, the skin is usually seared to remove any leftover hair. Once the pork has been cut up, it is lowered into a large vat that has a small layer of fat in the bottom and then cooked at a high temperature.
http://www.realcajunrecipes.com/recipe/cracklins-grattons-and-pork-rinds-baconettes/ http://www.olsouthrecipes.com/chitlins-cracklins.html http://www.beststopinscott.com/Cracklins.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_rind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_rind http://www.olsouthrecipes.com/chitlins-cracklins.html http://amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/cracklins.html http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-cracklins.htm http://www.cajun-food-specialties.com/cracklins.html http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-cracklins.htm
what are cracklins