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3.4.18

Home-made pork scratchings

We had some pork rind in the freezer recently, and wondered if we could use it to make pork scratchings.

These are traditionally a pub snack (most pubs sell them by the packet along with crisps and peanuts), thought to have originated in the West Midlands. They probably date back to times when many families kept their own pigs as a source of food, and as they didn’t want to waste any part of the animal they would fry and eat the offcuts of fat and skin. I’ve always found that you never know what you’re going to get in a bag of Mr Porky’s – they’ll either be too soft or hard enough to break your teeth, with not much in between.

Can one do home-made ones? Yes, one can. There are various recipes online, and they don’t have to involve deep-frying. Thanks to the Internet, we found a Jamie Oliver one that couldn’t be more simple – all I needed to do was score the fat, rub ground-up fennel seeds and salt into it, cut it up into chunks and place on a roasting-tray in the oven.


After about an hour, we had our own home-made pork scratchings! More consistent than the pub ones. Alas, they were so tasty that they did not last long…