Pork Panko Fried Chicken? - Anyone tried this?


 
PhilipHedrick said:
Pork panko is a game changer! It gives that crispy, crunchy texture without the carbs and it’s super flavorful because of the natural fat from the pork rinds. Using the Vortex on your Weber Performer sounds like a brilliant idea it’ll help you get that even, golden brown crust with indirect heat.
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On the hunt for pork panko or might just get local pork rinds from the grocery store and use the food processor.

Where do you buy them? Seems only on-line as none of the grocery stores have them.
 
Keith Jenkins said:
Keep us informed...my curiosity on this method for chicken has been piqued, and I'll be interested in your results.
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Will do.

I have done the Lefty's kettle fried chicken before and quite pleased. I think I will do a modified version of Kettle Fried Chicken:
  • Skin on chicken thighs, perhaps remove bones
  • Sea salt dry brine in fridge 6-8 hours
  • Lefty's as the dredge (with the corn starch?), then the egg, then the pork panko, and off to the Weber Performer with Vortex.
 
Wilmer Cogburn said:
Will do.

I have done the Lefty's kettle fried chicken before and quite pleased. I think I will do a modified version of Kettle Fried Chicken:
  • Skin on chicken thighs, perhaps remove bones
  • Sea salt dry brine in fridge 6-8 hours
  • Lefty's as the dredge (with the corn starch?), then the egg, then the pork panko, and off to the Weber Performer with Vortex.
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I'm particularly interested in the pork panko, and what it adds to the chicken. I've done Kettle Fried Chicken a number of times using Zatarain's Southern Buttermilk Chicken Fry Mix, and it always comes out great. Always looking to try something new though.
 
Well I did it and it was excellent!

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Unbelievable crunch!

Started with 10 skin on bone in chicken thighs. Washed and dried. Seasoned all sides with Malcolm Reed's AP seasoning, placed on racks and left uncovered in the fridge to dry brine. They dry brined 15+ hours.

Next day I took 3/4 cups Lefty's fry mix, added 3 tbsp corn starch, thoroughly mixed it, dredged each thigh once, and then did them a 2nd time. Placed back in the fridge on the racks.

For the "pork panko", I took one 8-ounce bag of chicharrones strips (garlic flavor) and one 3-ounce bag of pork skins (garlic flavor) and put them in a 2.5 gallon zip lock bag (mostly sealed closed except for last 2" to let air out) and proceeded to crush and roll them into panko like size. Next time will use a food processor.

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Next came 3 beaten eggs, and one by one each Lefty's coated thigh was dipped in the egg then in the pork panko. The 3 eggs were not quite enough for the 10 thighs so next time I will add a small amount of water or milk. The 11 ounces of pork panko was just right for 10 thighs. Big difference in the coating as shown by the in-process picture.
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Weber Performer with Vortex, Kingsford Blue, and some Royal Oak lump (trying to get rid of it). Added a chunk of apple wood. Dome temperature ran 450F +/-. All vents wide open. 20 minutes skin up, 20 minutes skin down (rotated end to end), 15 minutes skin up (rotated end to end), and done. Probed 170-180F.

Plated and served with mac 'n cheese and steamed broccoli. Mighty fine meal!
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Timothy F. Lewis said:
Thy get an exorbitant price for the stuff ready to “roll” so, your thought of using rinds and processor is the “smart money”!!
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I asked my wife what the pork rinds/chicharrones cost and she said they were were about $2.50 per bag at the ethnic market she shops, so that was about $5 worth of coating. Much cheaper than the "ready to roll" premade stuff for sure.
 
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Timothy F. Lewis said:
That looks great Wilmer! What is the difference between the two bags? They look pretty much the same to me.
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Thanks! It was great!

I am no connoisseur of these things, so take this with a grain of salt.

The chicharrones strips were around 3/8-1/2" in diameter and about 2-3" inches long. The label says "fried out pork fat with attached skin". The were darker in color and much more crunchy and would "snap" when you broke one. The result is they were more difficult to crush with the roller. Being more dense, I guess that explains the 8 ounces in the bag. My limited google fu says that pork chicharrones usually has pork belly with skin and then deep fried.

The pork skins where a wider flat like cut about 1" wide and maybe 2-3" long. The label says "fried pork skins". Much lighter in color and airy, like a cheese puff. These crushed easily. Being more "air puffed" I am thinking this explains the 3 ounces in the bag which was the same size as the 8 ounce bag of chicharrones strips. My limited google fu says these are just the skin that's deep fried.

The ones I used were simply what my wife found at the ethnic market, and not knowing which ones to use, she bought both. Not sure how representative these ones are compared to what may be available near you.

Not sure if there is a preferred choice for this technique.
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Okay, now I know more (probably useless) information to keep in the noggin! I have a Latino market (3 actually) close by, I would think the subtle difference between the two might be significant for this application.
Straight skins (the puffy kind) will crush more evenly and make for finer breading, the others might take more fussing but, probably have more flavor?
I’ll go try to talk to the butcher down there and see just how bad my Spanish is!
Right this minute, I could probably hork down both of those bags!
Thanks Wilmer!
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
Okay, now I know more (probably useless) information to keep in the noggin! I have a Latino market (3 actually) close by, I would think the subtle difference between the two might be significant for this application.
Straight skins (the puffy kind) will crush more evenly and make for finer breading, the others might take more fussing but, probably have more flavor?
I’ll go try to talk to the butcher down there and see just how bad my Spanish is!
Right this minute, I could probably hork down both of those bags!
Thanks Wilmer!
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Try it! Will be interesting to hear what you learn from your markets.

I do feel that the chicken had a slight pork vibe to it. Not sure if that’s normal or because of the pork belly component of the chicharonnes which was 8/11 (73%) of the coating blend.

I’m thinking that a 100% pork rind coating might have less pork vibe. 🤷
 
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