These are scrunchions. They’re a bit like pork rinds.
“Pork rind” simply means pork skin. It can refer to the fresh, raw skin cut from a side of pork, but more commonly it means pig skin that has been rendered and fried crisp. It is actually the same as crackling, though commercially-produced pork rinds are much more delicate than the crackling that develops on oven-roasted pork.
Scrunchions are made by a similar process, but they consist of pork fat, not skin. I know it sounds funny that deep-frying fat results in a crispy treat, but raw animal fat also contains a good deal of connective tissue that holds the fat cells in place. When you fry strips of raw, intact pork fat, the connective tissue browns and eventually becomes crispy.
Scrunchions are one of the great achievements of Newfie cuisine, along with chow-chow, screech, and saltfish. They also make scrunchions in Quebec, but they’re called oreilles de crisse, literally “Christ’s ears.” Quebecois profanity is hilarious…
The scrunchions pictured above were actually baked on a wire rack, not deep-fried. Once crisp they were removed to a paper towel and sprinkled with sea salt and chopped thyme.
How to Make a Paper Cone for Scrunchions
This is also how pastry cooks make impromptu piping bags from parchment paper.
Cut a 8″ x 8″ square of parchment paper. Cut the square into two right angled triangles. Orient one of the triangles so that the hypotenuse is towards you, like so:
Roll the bottom left corner so that its tip meets the tip on the top centre:
Now roll the bottom right corner around the cone, so that its tip meets the other two.
You should be able to pinch all three corners:
Fold the three corners down. Fold them once more to secure the cone.
The cone should now hold its own shape, without the use of tape.
I check your blog almost every day and have been so enjoying finding new entries almost every day. Yesterday was a disappointment so I was excited to see that number 50 today. Does this mean you have reached 50 blogs? That is kind of exciting.
You didn't comment on how the scrunchions tasted. I am not so keen on pork fat but it might be OK when it is crispy. Somehow I don't think it would fit my current low fat meal planning. I can't help wondering what effect hanging scrunchion over the oven rack had on the bottom of the oven.
I roast meat on a wire rack that's set in a sheet pan. The scrunchions were on that rack, dripping into the pan.
OK that makes sense.
Naw, you could totally eat it. It's low-fat pork fat.
LOL
And how did it taste????
What is chow chow? Is it what I made? Green tomato relish? I thought that came from the Southern US states… in any case – apparently, it depends upon the temperature – as in Vanja's culture – this is a HUGE treat and called cvarci (I call it crapola). It is the resulting crispy bits at the end of the fat rendering during pig harvest time each year. The Budapest Deli sells a very close version of this… much much darker than yours and I have actually tasted a thin little piece that was truly delicious; however, usually the very thought of eating it makes me ill.
:)
Love the cone lesson! Great for Christmas treat party munchies!
Valerie
Okay. Chow chow.
I've come across chow chow in the cuisines of both the southern US and maritime Canada. In both places chow chow is usually pickled green tomatoes, celery, and mustard.
I read in a southern cookbook that "Cha" is the Mandarin word for "mixed," and that the term "chow chow" was common in California in the 1840s to describe the chopped vegetable dishes of the Chinese labourers. The author then goes on to express confusion as to how the dish came to the Old South.
In maritime Canada chow chow is described simply as a scion of classic English picalilli. There are even some commercial forms, notably Graves Chow Chow.
Hi. Can you please replace the word “Newfie” with Newfoundlanders, please? A lot of us find it to be a really offensive term…it’s no different than saying n*gger when talking about an African or ch*nk when talking about a Chinese person.
Thanks.
Hi David. You’ve left an interesting comment. Frankly I think it’s laughable that you equate the term Newfie with a hateful, racial slur like the N-bomb. I’ve decided to keep the word on this post because the word itself has nothing to do with race, and I have not used it in a hateful way.
If you really believe it be be an offensive word, your efforts are better spent talking to real publishers, like the University of Toronto Press, which includes the word “Newfie” in its Dictionary of Newfoundland English, but doesn’t describe it as derogatory. You might also want to approach the people and businesses from your own province that use the word so frequently that other Canadians can only assume that it’s perfectly acceptable. (Here’s an example: HomesickNewfies.com)
Thanks for your comment. By the way, have I accurately described scrunchions? I’ve only ever read about them or made them myself, so I’d value your opinion on the matter.
Allan