Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracklin’ Jacks


We haven’t decided yet how we feel about pork rinds.

On one hand, any visit to New York’s 2nd Avenue Deli is elevated from good to heart-stoppingly great via the free bowl of gribbenes, a.k.a. chicken skin fried in chicken fat, that’s plonked down on our table when we sit down. So it stands to reason that if the fried skin of the humble chicken is spectacular, then the fried skin of the magical, wonderful pig will be transcendent. On the other hand, they make footballs from the stuff.

Speaking of sports. Our favorite farm league team, the Brooklyn Cyclones, has decided that the relationship between the pig and baseball needs to move beyond the Denny’s Grand Slam, and are coming down squarely on the side of Pork Rinds Are Awesome with their upcoming themed evening: A Salute To The Pork Rind, sponsored by Utz brand pork rinds.

The salute will involve plenty of pork rind-related activities:

One of the between-inning contests will also feature two fans diving into a pool of pork rinds for a hidden treasure, and another will see contestants toss pork rinds at a target.

But the centerpiece of the evening (besides, y’know, the baseball game) is a pork rind sculpture contest (ingredients: pork rinds, milk) with fun and exciting prizes: a six-month supply of pork rinds, a year’s supply of pork rinds, and - for the winner - a bus ticket to Hanover, PA, a night in a hotel, spending money, and a tour of the Utz pork rind factory. I don’t think we need to tell you how this could be the greatest experience of your life.

You’ve got to pre-register to participate in the pork rind contest, so if you find yourself planning to be in Coney Island next Monday, drop a line to Ricky Viola. Willy Wonka, eat your heart out.

[Photo: pig made of pork rinds, via Brooklyn Cyclones]

Buy Me Some Peanuts and Cracklin’ Jacks