What are
What are pork rinds?
The pork rinds, sometimes called rind, or rind - the most suitable term to mention the natural covering of the ham - are foods of animal origin that can be placed in the subset of the fifth quarter. Specifically, it is the pig's skin - Sus scrofa domesticus - properly shaved - deprived of the bristles - cleaned and reduced to pieces.
Being basically constituted by the skin, sometimes erroneously associated with a thin layer of adipose tissue, the rinds are not properly called meat - instead it is composed almost entirely of muscular tissue. Cotiche and meat differ, therefore, for the specific parenchyma from which they derive - ecto- and exodermic in the first case, fibrocellular in the second. The pork rinds are therefore essentially composed of dense connective tissue rich in various types of collagen - mainly type I - which undergoes cooking in water and turns into a gelatinous substance - and secondarily from types III and XII.
From a nutritional point of view, pork rinds are framed in the first fundamental group of foods - foods rich in high biological value proteins, specific vitamins and minerals. Properly prepared, pork rinds should not be too fat, although this aspect changes a lot depending on the hand of the person who works them. For more information on nutritional properties and dietary application of pork rinds, see the paragraphs below.
deepening
With regard to the nutritional composition of the pork rinds, a clarification must be made. There are very few butchers who cleanse the pork rinds to leave only the pig's skin. Mostly, these are left thick, rich in fat, to have a greater yield and therefore a greater gain in the sale.
Currently the consumption of pork rinds is gradually decreasing. On the contrary, in the past they were an integral part of peasant gastronomy and especially in the Padana area where, following the slaughter of the pig, it was imperative "not to throw away anything". Pork rinds were an excellent - above all economic - ingredient to flavor poor dishes - for example the usual stewed beans - or to enrich pot sausages - such as cotechino and zampone. The role of pork rinds in roasts should not be overlooked, even though it is strongly linked to meat cooking - see porchetta, fresh pork ham steaks, grilled bacon etc.
On the market, pork rinds are ready for use, clean, cut and cleaned. This greatly facilitates their use which however takes time and much care. To be cooked to perfection in stews, in which they take on a soft and gelatinous consistency, and in roasts, in which they become crunchy, pork rinds must be cooked slowly and for a long time.
Nutritional Properties
Nutritional properties of pork rinds
Note : the nutritional characteristics of the pork rinds depend very much on the method by which they are trimmed and trimmed, which is why both the nutritional properties and the dietetic application of the pork rinds have been written in a promiscuous manner.
The pork rinds belong to the first fundamental group of foods - nutritional source of essential amino acids, mineral salts and specific vitamins.
They have a medium or high energy intake, depending on the amount of adipose tissue that is left attached at the time of cleansing; calories are essentially provided by proteins or, if left thick, by lipids.
Peptides are mainly of high biological value, ie they contain all the essential amino acids in the right quantities and proportions with respect to the human protein model. Fatty acids, on the other hand, should have a prevalence of unsaturated monounsaturated chains, although in heavy pigs the saturated fraction is more than considerable.
Pork rinds do not contain fiber, but cholesterol should be significant. The main molecules potentially responsible for food intolerance are absent: lactose, gluten and histamine. The purines are well present but in smaller quantities than the organ offal. They contain a significant percentage of phenylalanine.
With regard to vitamins, pork rinds should provide satisfactory levels of several water-soluble vitamins, in particular of group B. Among the various we mention: thiamine (vit B1), riboflavin (vit B2), niacin (vit PP), pyridoxine (vit B6) and cobalamin (vit B12). As for minerals, pork rinds could contain good levels of: iron - highly bioavailable - zinc, phosphorus and potassium.
Diet
Cotiche as a food in the diet
The adequacy of the rinds to the ordinary diet depends on the percentage of fats they contain.
If left very thin, they have no contraindications in diet therapy against overweight and the most common replacement diseases, such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, primary arterial hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Otherwise, they must be totally avoided.
Rinds are considered inadequate for the diet of subjects with digestive complications such as dyspepsia, gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer.
Due to the concentration of purines, pork rinds are contraindicated in the diet against hyperuricemia and those suffering from uric acid kidney stones. Containing phenylalanine, they should be avoided or taken with extreme moderation in the case of phenylketonuria.
Due to the absence of lactose, gluten and histamine, they have no contraindications in the diet of milk sugar intolerant, celiac and histamine intolerant.
The pork rinds, rich in proteins of high biological value, can be considered useful in the diet of those who find themselves in conditions of increased protein requirements; for example: pregnancy and lactation, growth, extremely intense and / or prolonged sports, old age - due to an eating disorder and a tendency to malabsorption - malabsorption, recovery from specific or generalized malnutrition, debasement, etc. This role, today negligible, in the past was not for the underprivileged population groups.
The pork rinds could be a good source of bio-available iron; in this case they would contribute to favoring the coverage of nutritional needs, which are greater - and therefore correlated to a higher incidence of iron deficiency anemia - in fertile and pregnant women, in marathon runners and in vegetarians - especially in vegans. Eating pork rinds also helps to cover phosphorus, an abundant mineral in the diet but of which the body has a great need - for bones, for phospholipids of cell membranes and for nervous tissue. Also the zinc content should be more than appreciable; this antioxidant mineral performs many functions such as hormonal and enzymatic production. The pork rinds are not to be considered an essential source of potassium, but they nevertheless contribute to the coverage of the specific requirement - greater in case of increased sweating, for example in sports, increased diuresis and diarrhea; the lack of this ion induces, especially related to lack of magnesium and dehydration, the onset of muscle cramps and general weakness. Potassium - like magnesium - is an alkalizing agent necessary for the functioning of the membrane potential; it can be very useful in the fight against the pathology of primary arterial hypertension.
The pork rinds should contain many B vitamins, all coenzymatic factors of great importance in cellular processes. They can therefore be considered an excellent support for the functioning of all body tissues.
The pork rinds are obviously not allowed in the vegetarian and vegan diet; they are also inadequate in the Hindu and Buddhist diet. Coming from banned animals, they are contraindicated for Muslim and Jewish diets.
The average portion of pork rinds varies according to the level of fatness.
Kitchen
Purchase of pork rinds
On their own, pork rinds are mainly marketed ready, scraped and without bristles, cleaned - an operation necessary to remove as much subcutaneous fat as possible - and cut into large pieces or strips. However, the cost is very variable. Wholesale should be almost marginal, since the skin is one of the most abundant and least used elements of the fifth; however at retail, perhaps for reasons of pure convenience, they are not equally convenient.
There are very few people who venture into buying raw pork rind; to be honest, today this is almost impossible to find. In order, the removal of the bristles comes immediately after killing and bleeding. In large slaughterhouses this happens by means of huge automatic peelers and at home level - taking for granted the regularity of the regulations in force for veterinary and sanitary safety - this happens only after the slaughter of one's own animal and not without difficulty . By buying the slaughtered pig, even whole, the pork rind is usually already deprived of the bristles.
Did you know that ...
The removal of the bristles from the rind is one of the most challenging steps in slaughtering the pig. To obtain a good result it is necessary that the animal has died recently, or that from the biological point of view the post-mortem changes do not start. Then, the bristles are removed by pouring very hot but not boiling water, at about 60 ° C, and scraping with a sharp knife or with the classic "bell" - now disused. Cold water has no effect and hot water has microscopic changes in the structure of the skin and hair that make it almost impossible to remove them properly. Some finish the already cleaned rinds with an intense flame, burning the residues as is done with poultry feathers.
There are no particular recommendations for buying pork rinds. It is advisable to pay as much attention as is generally paid to all products of animal origin. The pork rinds must have a light color, varying between white and beige, and a pleasant smell; the consistency is always rubbery. Visual or olfactory alterations, with yellow or greenish shades and pungent odor suggest the bad conservation of the pork rinds and the purchase is not recommended.
Cooking in the kitchen
Leaving aside the preparation phases, which as we have seen are generally practiced by the slaughterhouse, let us dwell on the cooking process.
The pork rinds can be cooked in completely different ways. If they must reach a soft and gelatinous consistency, the thermal exposure must not be too intense and should take place mainly by conduction of heat in aqueous liquid. This is because the collagen of the connective tissue in the skin effectively gels, totally changing the consistency from tenacious, elastic, cartilaginous and rubbery, to tender and almost melting. There are also several modern applications that involve vacuum processing, in special bags, cooking at low temperatures for very long periods of time. In fact, not everyone knows that the denaturation of type I collagen fibers starts at fairly moderate temperatures.
Usually pork rinds are not eaten alone, although almost all use precookers to facilitate their use in other preparations. The most famous recipe is that of beans with pork rinds, since both ingredients require long cooking times. A quick alternative, even if of average value, is to boil the pork rinds completely in water and mix them with borlotti beans or cannellini beans, drained from brine, and enriched with a little tomato paste, chilli pepper or black pepper and a leaf sage or bay leaves or some myrtle berries; a glass of wine possibly needed to blend the browned pork rinds in a mixture of celery, carrots and onion - before adding the beans - is optional.
The pork rinds to soften are also the characteristic ingredient of the sausages to be cooked like cotechino and zampone. Both of these recipes require an equally slow cooking, in water that boils, to facilitate the reduction of the texture of the connective tissue and make the food tender.
If they have to reach a hard and crunchy consistency instead, they require cooking by irradiation or by dry air convection. These are characteristic of roasting, spit-roasting or grilling, in charcoal or charcoal, on lava stone or in the oven. The duration can be very long, in the case of a roast pork - even over 7 hours - or quite short as for the grilled pancetta.
