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Crispity clouds of porkaliciousness
Not kidding. The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that starting next week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers will be cracking down on…cracklin’s, also known as chicharrones, aka fried pork rinds. From now on, if you want to cross the border from Mexico with chicharrones from certain areas of the country, they’ll need a health certificate.
From information contained in a news release, it appears that DHS is concerned primarily with the crunchy, snack chip-type chicharron, as opposed to the meaty nugget variety. And the main concern, according to DHS is “certain exotic animal diseases.”
According to the release, the health certificate needs to certify that your pork rinds meet one of the two following requirements:
The pork skins were cooked in oil for at least 80 minutes when oil temperature is consistently maintained at a minimum of 114 degrees Celsius or that the pork skins were dry-cooked at a minimum of 260 degrees Celsius for approximately 210 minutes after which the pork skins were cooked in hot oil (deep-fried) at a minimum of 104 degrees Celsius for an additional 150 minutes.
But wait, here comes the best part:
Currently, CBP officers are required to ensure that the pork skins are thoroughly cooked; the pork skins or rinds must be crisp and should crumble easily when bent.
Who knew that checking chicharrones for optimal crunchability was a part of a customs officer’s job? But surely dedicated consumers will agree, pork rinds should be crisp and crumble easily when bent.
“While it is important that the traveling public recognize this change, we do not anticipate any major issues locally because importations from the state of Chihuahua are not included in the list at this time,” Ana Hinojosa, Director of Field Operations in El Paso, said in the release.
“Nevertheless those who travel beyond the immediate border area should be aware and take appropriate steps.”
