Pork rind

Pork rind is the skin; pork crackling usually means skin cooked until crisp, often still attached to a piece of roast pork. Packaged pork-rind snacks are also fried or baked skin, so they are ready to eat.

For fresh rind, scrape away excess fat, score the skin without cutting through it, then dry it thoroughly in the fridge uncovered overnight. Roast skin-side up at 220°C until blistered and crisp, usually 30–45 minutes depending on its thickness.

Cut it into strips and simmer it gently in water until tender, usually 1–2 hours, then add it to the stew to finish cooking. This softens the skin and releases gelatine that gives the broth body.

Crisp pork rind is eaten as a snack, while simmered rind appears in dishes such as Mexican chicharrón stews and Brazilian feijão. It can also be chopped into soups or beans for a rich, savoury texture.

Keep fresh, uncooked rind covered in the fridge and use it within a couple of days, or freeze it for longer storage. Once cooked, cool it promptly and refrigerate it; keep crisp rind in an airtight container and eat it soon, as moisture makes it chewy.

Yes—packaged pork-rind snacks are cooked and ready to eat. They are often salted, so check the seasoning if you are using them as an ingredient rather than eating them as a snack.

Pork crackling has more energy and fat per 100 g: 550 kcal and 45 g of fat, compared with 237 kcal and 14 g in pork rind. Pork crackling also has more protein: 36.2 g versus 29 g.