Carolina Gold Nuggets Microwave Pork Puffies Pork Rinds, Original, 5 Lb

I've read a couple if different methods for microwaving these Carolina Gold Nuggets pork rinds. These methods include using a paper plate and using the Nordicware Microwave popcorn bowl. My first two batches were, in fact, tried using these two microwave methods. Neither of these two methods succeeded in giving me pork rinds that were fluffy, crunchy and properly cooked. What I ended up getting was portions that were tough, teeth cracking pieces. Some parts were fluffy, some were hard-crispy and some parts weren't cooked no matter how long I left them cooking.I have tried the Lowrey's Microwaveable pork rinds in the past which cook in what look like Microwave popcorn bags. These bags always produce fantastic, crispy, crunchy and fluffy pork rinds with no chewiness or teeth cracking pieces. The problem with Lowrey's bags is that they're pricey and heavy with salt. I bought the Carolina Gold Nuggets in hopes that I could save some money and reduce the amount of salt on them. Sure enough, they come unsalted. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to reproduce the texture of what Lowrey's microwave pork rind bags give.At first, I thought the pork rinds were some how different from what Lowrey's uses. I found that to be wrong. Instead, what I've determined is that there's really only one way to microwave pork rinds properly... and that's in the bags that Lowrey's uses for their cooking method. Why does this method make such a big difference? Steam.When you cook on a paper plate or in a Nordicware microwave bowl, too much steam escapes. In the microwave bag, the steam doesn't escape. The steam is released from the pork rinds and it is this steam that is used to reinforce the cooking power of the microwave. The steam leaves the pork rinds even fluffier, crispier and without any hint of a rubbery texture or any hard pieces to break your teeth. This method ensures that every piece in the bag cooks fully and completely. This means getting a bag and trying this method.When packing the bag, you must make sure the pieces don't overlap, so you need to move the bag around so that the pieces lay flat inside the bag. The Lowrey's bags show you how to do this. In my microwave, the cooking time is 2 minutes to perfectly cooked pork rinds (even using Carolina Gold Nuggets) using a bag. I couldn't get anything close to this with 3 or more minutes using any other method. Using an old Lowrey's bag, the rinds come out perfect. If I cook on a paper plate or in the Nordicware popcorn bowl, they come out unevenly cooked, including break-your-teeth hard pieces. This is wasteful and unnecessary when those pieces could have fully cooked.If you've bought any Lowrey's in the past, save the bags and reuse them for the Carolina Gold Nuggets. You can reuse the bags over and over. You might even be able to reuse microwave popcorn bags. You'll just need to wipe them out after each use. I don't dare try this with a standard brown lunch bag as they're not designed for this purpose and might catch fire. The Lowrey's bags are designed for this cooking purpose. A single bag has withstood several reuses without any hint of browning (i.e., fire).These are great pork rinds when cooked properly. However, Carolina Gold Nuggets needs to sell us the same commercial microwave bags like what Lowrey's uses so we can properly cook them. I'm rating this 5 stars because the pork rinds are perfect when properly cooked. Unfortunately, we need the proper tools to make that happen. Hopefully, this helps you get better rinds out of your microwave with the Carolina Gold Nuggets. Good luck.

I've been ordering these for close to a decade and they're always amazing! Being almost 9 years Paleo and a nutrition specialist, even grainfree and root vegetable chips are often made unhealthy with inflammatory vegetable or seed oils. Those made in clean, healthy oils are still pretty high in carbohydrates and having metabolic syndrome due to parental negligence while I was growing up, my system can't handle the carb load. These puffies are the perfect, low-calorie, pure protein, chip replacement! 1:40 on a paper towel in the microwave results in light, airy, crispy, warm vehicles for everything from guacamole to salsa to tuna salad to a fully loaded burger, cut up to be made scoopable. YUMMY!

I've been buying these for years, and they are so good! I deep fry mine in oil and occasionally add two serving spoon size scoops of bacon grease in with the oil for a hint of bacon flavor - they seem to melt like butter in my mouth. Almost all turn out well with just a few that won't puff up. These are the perfect snack for me and my dogs, as there are no carbs in them - It's fun to try out new seasonings on them (only for the ones meant for the humans) though I have added various dog friendly seasonings at times as well - nutritional yeast, parsley, dried and powdered dandelion leaves, cleavers, turmeric etc. LOVE these things - just can't go back to store bought after making them fresh at home!

We have been eating these for at least 5 years. Cooking is key to a great tasting rind.Microwave cooking can be good but I really think it depends on the microwave. The microwave in our house does not do a good job. After 5 minutes on high many are cooked properly but about 1/3 are still hard or partially cooked. Placing the uncooked back in the microwave does not work for us. We have tried the microwave popcorn cookers without success. The microwave in our RV is the same wattage and it does a great job almost every time with very few uncooked. No explanation but it is definitely true.Cooking in oil. Heat about a cup of canola oil to about 450 F in a small 4 or 5 inch high wall pot and add 5 or 6 chips. Every one will cook perfectly. You have to be right there when they are cooking because they will burn. Remove them to paper towels. My criticism of this method is that I don’t think they taste as good. Maybe the oil extracts some flavor but the rinds are beautiful.Baking is our preferred go to easy method. Preheat oven to 450 F place a single layer of rinds, don’t crowd, and bake for 3 minutes. You must watch them from about 2.5 minutes because they will burn quickly after they are done. Almost every rind will cook and those that don’t can be put back and usually they will finish.We have not tried air frying but that sounds like a good option.