Making Your Own Pork Rind.

[WRB]

Pork rind used for jig trailers is made from hog backs with skin.

The process takes about 3 weeks and is messy.

Start by going to a butcher shop and have strips made about 6" wide by 12" to 20" long, cut 1/4" thick with skin. Use quart size Mason or canning jars to store the hog backs in.

Lay the backs on a flat surface and cover with salt, rubbing the salt onto both sides.

Roll the hog backs so you have a 6" high roll.

Put the rolled hog back into the Mason jar and fill the jar with salt and seal.

Store the sealers jars in a cool place for about 2 weeks.

Remove the hog back roll after 2 weeks and roll out flat.

Scrap off the mealy fatty side using a dull edge scrapper until the hog back is about 3/16" thick.

Cover with salt, put back into the jar for 1 week.

You now have cured pork rind ready to cut into shapes.

The rind will be natural white color.

To dye use Rit liquid dye mixed 50% water to dye in warm water. You can use the Mason jar, leave the rinds in the jars about 12 hours, remove then rinse in warm water.

Store the cured rinds in heavy salt water. Boil 4 cups water add equal amount of Hain sea salt and continue to boil while stirring until most of the salt has dissolved. Cool and use to store you rinds wet in a glass jar with sealed plastic lid.

Good luck.

Tom

[BasshunterJGH]

Thanks for the post. Sounds like a lot of work, but worth it.

[travis23]

This might be something to try one day! Thanks Tom!

[Jolly Green]

Wow. And I thought I was going overboard saving and processing a couple of tails from deer my buddy shot this year. Interesting stuff! While I'm inclined to let Uncle Josh do all that for me, if this winter is anything like last winter, who knows...

 

Out of curiosity, why do you do it, Tom? Quality control? Shapes unavailable commercially? Or do you just plain like doing it yourself?

[Iowa Angler]

During the cold Midwest winters, I like having something constructive to do to get ready for the next seasons fishing. Making pork rind trailers, making up different jig and spinner bait combinations, experimenting with different riggings, lure alterations and such help pass the time. Plus, I think adding a personal touch to lure creation and selection is way better than the "buy and fly" method of grabbing lures off the shelf at Wally World and flailing away at your local fishin' hole! I've found a few tricks from such experimenting that have caught a lot of bass. Every pond and lake is different, and the bass will respond in certain situations on one body of water that they won't react to on another. My favorite fishing spot here in Iowa is called Deep Lakes park. It's a series of abandoned gravel pits that have been turned into a county park. I've been fishing these pits for years, and have found that methods and patterns vary from one pit to another, even though they be only a hundred yards apart! Fishing is a sport, and as the players, we always need to keep finding ways to up our game!

 

[hawgenvy]

On 12/13/2014 at 9:02 PM, WRB said:

Pork rind used for jig trailers is made from hog backs with skin.

The process takes about 3 weeks and is messy.

Start by going to a butcher shop and have strips made about 6" wide by 12" to 20" long, cut 1/4" thick with skin. Use quart size Mason or canning jars to store the hog backs in.

Lay the backs on a flat surface and cover with salt, rubbing the salt onto both sides.

Roll the hog backs so you have a 6" high roll.

Put the rolled hog back into the Mason jar and fill the jar with salt and seal.

Store the sealers jars in a cool place for about 2 weeks.

Remove the hog back roll after 2 weeks and roll out flat.

Scrap off the mealy fatty side using a dull edge scrapper until the hog back is about 3/16" thick.

Cover with salt, put back into the jar for 1 week.

You know have cured pork rind ready to cut into shapes.

The rind will be natural white color.

To dye use Rite liquid dye mixed 50% water to dye in warm water. You can use the Mason jar, leave the rinds in the jars about 12 hours, remove then rinse in warm water.

Store the cured rinds in heavy salt water. Boil 4 cups water add equal amount of flake salt and continue to boil while stirring until most of the salt has dissolved. Cool and use to store you rinds wet in a glass jar with sealed plastic lid.

Good luck.

Tom

Interesting! Thanks! But how do you cut them when ready? Do you use a metal or plastic pattern as a guide? Different sizes, different patterns?

[Bluebasser86]

I'd like to try this but there is no chance my wife is going to be okay with mason jars full of pork backs sitting around the house somewhere. 

[buzzed bait]

wow, that's quite a process and good info Tom.  Just wanted to note that there is quite a difference in the meat and skin of a "hog" versus that of a "pig".  These may just be differences in terminology, but one is the domesticated animal we all think of when we think bacon.  The other is that wild black beast that came over here from Russia.  Having hog hunted enough to know that there skin is considerably thicker than that of a domesticated pig.  

Would be interesting to do a little test with strips from both the hog and pig to examine the differences after processing them.

[badhatharry]

This is quite timely, after Uncle Josh's announcement that they will no longer produce pork rind products.  Thanks for the recipe!

[PourMyOwn]

No more Uncle Josh? Uggh. One more thing to tell the women in my life to look for at garage sales.

[J Francho]

I haven't used pork rind in years. 

[Snakehead Whisperer]

4 hours ago, badhatharry said:

This is quite timely, after Uncle Josh's announcement that they will no longer produce pork rind products.  Thanks for the recipe!

 

3 hours ago, PourMyOwn said:

No more Uncle Josh? Uggh. One more thing to tell the women in my life to look for at garage sales.

I'm pretty skeptical about this "news." I've searched high and low, and the only article I can find about this is here. Every alarmist forum post I've read here and elsewhere, points to the same article with no other evidence of Uncle Josh going out of business. I've now heard stories of people stocking up on these baits and also paying upward of $30/jar for them. Pfft.

Meanwhile, unclejosh.com continues to sell the entire line of their baits at normal retail price and has nothing posted about going out of business or discontinuing pork trailers. I just bought some yesterday, and they were the same price they always are (not cheap.)

I challenge anybody to find another article, other than the one that I linked to in the first paragraph, that supports this rumor that Uncle Josh is going out of the pork rind business. I will give you 'mad props' if you can. 

Sorry if this is off topic. It's not meant to hijack the thread. Thanks for the good recipe WRB. I'd like to try this some day. 

[badhatharry]

On 1/5/2016 at 1:20 PM, Snakehead Whisperer said:

 

I'm pretty skeptical about this "news." I've searched high and low, and the only article I can find about this is here. Every alarmist forum post I've read here and elsewhere, points to the same article with no other evidence of Uncle Josh going out of business. I've now heard stories of people stocking up on these baits and also paying upward of $30/jar for them. Pfft.

Meanwhile, unclejosh.com continues to sell the entire line of their baits at normal retail price and has nothing posted about going out of business or discontinuing pork trailers. I just bought some yesterday, and they were the same price they always are (not cheap.)

I challenge anybody to find another article, other than the one that I linked to in the first paragraph, that supports this rumor that Uncle Josh is going out of the pork rind business. I will give you 'mad props' if you can. 

Sorry if this is off topic. It's not meant to hijack the thread. Thanks for the good recipe WRB. I'd like to try this some day. 

Like this one?

http://fishingtackleretailer.com/end-of-an-era-uncle-josh-to-discontinue-pork-products/

[Snakehead Whisperer]

46 minutes ago, badhatharry said:

Like this one?

http://fishingtackleretailer.com/end-of-an-era-uncle-josh-to-discontinue-pork-products/

I wish I could like your post more than once, as a single like hardly constitutes "mad props" in my opinion. Thanks for the link. 

I guess I never really thought much about whether the story was true or not. I use Uncle Josh trailers, but I'll make do without them if need be. Thankfully the recipe is right here in this thread too, if I ever decide to try my hand at making some. 

On a side note, I wrote an email to Uncle Josh the other day after posting. Hopefully I'll get a response. If so, I'll let you all know what it says.  

[shimmy]

One of the troubles I have had in the past with making pork trailers. The dye usually bleeds out and will not be a dark black like uncle josh is after it gets wet. Any solutions to this?

 

[shimmy]

Furthermore, any ideas for the best plastic that has the best imitation of pork? 

[cadman]

On 1/5/2016 at 3:20 PM, Snakehead Whisperer said:

 

I'm pretty skeptical about this "news." I've searched high and low, and the only article I can find about this is here. Every alarmist forum post I've read here and elsewhere, points to the same article with no other evidence of Uncle Josh going out of business. I've now heard stories of people stocking up on these baits and also paying upward of $30/jar for them. Pfft.

Meanwhile, unclejosh.com continues to sell the entire line of their baits at normal retail price and has nothing posted about going out of business or discontinuing pork trailers. I just bought some yesterday, and they were the same price they always are (not cheap.)

I challenge anybody to find another article, other than the one that I linked to in the first paragraph, that supports this rumor that Uncle Josh is going out of the pork rind business. I will give you 'mad props' if you can. 

Sorry if this is off topic. It's not meant to hijack the thread. Thanks for the good recipe WRB. I'd like to try this some day. 

I agree with you in a sense. The way  I understand it, was that they are having a hard time getting the correct pork skins to make their product. To me that does not mean that it is not available anymore, just means to me that they might raise their prices, to get the product they need to re-sell. If I remember correctly, Uncle Josh also owns Kalins and a few other companies. So I don't think they are going out of business. Please post on your findings  when you hear back from Uncle Josh. I as well can do without them. It's not an end all to bass fishing if we can't use pork. JMO.

[Jim Drinkwater]

I still use pork trailers at times and still have a pretty good supply but having the information that started this thread I may very well go to a local slaughter house and give this a try. One of the things I would make other than the obvious frog trailers is going to be my own version of a pork o. I loved those things, caught a number of very good fish on them. Saddly not having them and their special round bend weedless hooks has made fishing some areas not as much fun as it once was. So I can always make my own Pork O's but would kill to get a supply of those big round bend weedless hooks, any ideas oh assembled host of fishing experts.

[WRB]

It's nearly 4 years later, both Super Pork and Uncle Josh pork rinds are no longer available along with off the shelf stock at most stores. 

This is a messy process but may be your only choice now.

Tom

[jbrew73]

On 12/12/2014 at 9:02 PM, WRB said:

 

Pork rind used for jig trailers is made from hog backs with skin.

The process takes about 3 weeks and is messy.

Start by going to a butcher shop and have strips made about 6" wide by 12" to 20" long, cut 1/4" thick with skin. Use quart size Mason or canning jars to store the hog backs in.

Lay the backs on a flat surface and cover with salt, rubbing the salt onto both sides.

Roll the hog backs so you have a 6" high roll.

Put the rolled hog back into the Mason jar and fill the jar with salt and seal.

Store the sealers jars in a cool place for about 2 weeks.

Remove the hog back roll after 2 weeks and roll out flat.

Scrap off the mealy fatty side using a dull edge scrapper until the hog back is about 3/16" thick.

Cover with salt, put back into the jar for 1 week.

You now have cured pork rind ready to cut into shapes.

The rind will be natural white color.

To dye use Rit liquid dye mixed 50% water to dye in warm water. You can use the Mason jar, leave the rinds in the jars about 12 hours, remove then rinse in warm water.

Store the cured rinds in heavy salt water. Boil 4 cups water add equal amount of Hain sea salt and continue to boil while stirring until most of the salt has dissolved. Cool and use to store you rinds wet in a glass jar with sealed plastic lid.

Good luck.

Tom

 

Tom

at what point of the process do you cut it into the desired shapes?

 

[WRB]

1 hour ago, jbrew73 said:

 

Tom

at what point of the process do you cut it into the desired shapes?

 

After the pork is cured, about 3 weeks. You can have a leather shop make steel rule die the shape you want, basically a sharp blade like a cookie cutter mounted in a block of hard wood. You can also cut the pork using sharp scissors and trim off the fatty side if desired using a fillet knife; a frog with fatty head and hide without fat for the tails.

Tom

[jbrew73]

Thanks Tom 

[Paul Roberts]

Thanks, Tom.

 

An added clarification: When using RIT use warm water, not hot! Certainly not boiling. Don't put those mice supple rinds in too hot water. Or you'll end up with something like formed rubber.

[WRB]

Thanks Paul. If you use liquid RIT dye in cold water is ok, warm water get cold over night.

Cured pork rind stored in heavy salt water solution in a sealed glass jar will last a very long. I check the jars each year and add salt water if needed to keep the jars full. I have a few Pedigo pork rind jars that are 40 years now, why I have no idea!

Tom