What is it?
There are two types of chicharrón that I know of, the pork ones and the wheat ones. For this post, we are going to be talking about the pork chicharrón. Now, what is a pork chicharrón? This food goes by many names, cracklings, fried pork belly, and fried pork rind or skin. As it states in the name it is pork belly or rind that has been fried until crispy.
When using Chicharrón you can make a lot of different dishes in Mexican cuisine. Or another way I have seen others consume this is with lime juice and chili. Just add some salsa Valentina and you will be munching on them for hours. In today’s case, I will be using the chicharróns en salsa verde or fried pork belly in green salsa. So let us get to it!
Recipe
Chicharrón en Chile Verde
Equipment
- Saute Pan w/ Lid
- Aluminum foil
- Tongs
- Blender
- Measuring Spoon
- Measuring cup
- Wooden spoon
Materials
- ¼ Onion White
- 7 Tomatillos Large
- 2 Serrano Peppers 1 of them deseeded
- 2 Cloves of Garlic
- 2-3 Stems of Cilantro Optional
- 1 Tsp Cumin Powdered
- 3 Cups Water
- Salt To Taste
- 2 Lbs Chicharrón With Meat
Instructions
- Wash all of your produce.
- Once washed lightly oil your tomatillos, and serrano peppers. Place the tomatillos, serranos, and onion on an aluminum. Gently fold it "hamburger style" and fold the edges, to ensure it is tight and there will be no spillage.
- Place the aluminum package that you just created on a saute pan on medium to low heat and roast each side for 10 minutes.
- Once each side has been roasted pour everything into a blender. Be careful because it is going to be hot.
- To the blender, you're going to add the garlic and cilantro. Blend it until smooth.
- As soon as your salsa is blended pour it into your saute pan along with your water and cumin. Give it a quick mix and add salt to taste. (Be careful when salting your salsa the pork belly is going to be salty)
- Give your salsa a few seconds to heat up. Then add your pork belly.
- Turn down your heat to low and let it simmer until the meat side of the Chicharrón soften up. About 30 minutes
- As soon as the Chicharrón is soft turn off the heat. If more salt is needed adjust to your liking and enjoy!
Notes
Suggestions
My inspiration for Chicharrón en Salsa Verde came from after eating my mother in laws version. My husband and his family grew up eating chili all the time and on almost everything they ate. However, unlike his family, my family can’t handle spice that well so I deseeded only 1 serrano. The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it spicier by not deseeding the chili or cut down the spice by deseeding them all. If you are making this for children to consume or you can’t handle spice either I would recommend to cut down the chili to one and deseed it.
How do you eat this?
So what should you eat with this? Personally I love to eat Chicharrón en Salsa Verde with some refried beans and Sopa de Arroz. Chop up some cilantro and onions and you can make this bad boy into a burrito for lunch on the go!
