Mr Scratchings Pork Scratchings Review: Plenty of Crunch, Modest Flavour
“Crunchy and seasoned pork scratchings” promises the bag. That sounds straightforward enough, but does Mr Scratchings deliver the satisfying bite and savoury flavour I’m looking for?
This bag has a few things going for it: irregular pieces, the occasional bit of meat and a decent level of salt. The flavour, however, could do with a little more personality.
A Familiar-Sounding Name
The name Mr Scratchings immediately makes me think of Mr Porky, another pork scratchings brand. Both use the same “Mr” approach, so the resemblance caught my attention. That alone doesn’t tell us anything about how the name was chosen, though. What matters here is what’s inside the bag.
From Raw Rind to Finished Scratching
The back of the packet states that 277g of raw pork rind is used to make 100g of pork scratchings. That’s a considerable reduction during cooking, although it doesn’t mean that the entire 177g difference is rendered fat.
The finished scratchings still contain 51.3g of fat per 100g, according to the label. Whatever disappears during cooking, there’s certainly plenty of fat left in the finished snack.
First Impressions: A Properly Mixed Bag
Opening the packet, I get a dry-smelling aroma rather than anything oily or fishy. This is a reasonable start.
The pieces are completely irregular in shape and size, which is good. Colours range from pale to dark. That variety gives them the appearance I like in a bag of pork scratchings: no uniform shapes or identical little bites.
Some pieces have a little meat attached, which is always welcome. There are no hairs, though, a disappointment for those of us who appreciate that particular traditional touch.
The skin is slightly more bubbly than I expect from a traditional pork scratching, but it hasn’t reached the airy texture I associate with pork crackling.
Crunch With a Few Serious Contenders
There’s plenty of crunch here, including a few exceptionally hard pieces. “Teeth breakers” was my immediate reaction.
I do enjoy a firm scratching. With lighter pork crackling and puffed pork crunch offering a gentler bite, there’s something satisfying about a bag that still makes you work a little.
Just Enough Salt, Not Quite Enough Flavour
Despite the dry aroma, the pieces feel slightly oily, with a light dusting on the surface.
The salt level is just right for my taste, but the overall flavour is fairly restrained. They’re pleasant enough to eat; they simply lack the savoury punch that would make them memorable.
There are quite a few small fragments at the bottom of the bag. Unfortunately, there’s no concentrated seasoning or salty dust waiting there to provide a flavourful finish.
The Verdict: Decent, but Unremarkable
Mr Scratchings pork scratchings offer varied pieces, occasional meaty bits and plenty of crunch. The balanced salt level is another positive.
What holds them back is the modest flavour and the handful of extremely hard pieces. A nice enough bag of pork scratchings, but nothing to write home about.
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