Chicharronnes

These little light and crispy snacks are a popular Street Food in the South Americas, but if you think about it, something similar can be found in every culture. In the UK they would be called Pork Scratchings and eaten in Pubs. 

I discovered them after eating a dish at the Mexican breakfast buffet in our hotel. The dish was called Chicharronnes en Salsa Verde. It was so delicious I returned several times to get more. At first I thought it must be tripe, as the texture of the meaty pieces was kind of light and airy. I couldn't figure out what was in this dish, so I resorted to asking the chef. He spoke only spanish, but luckily I understand enough to make sense of what he told me.

So the main ingredients were these Chicharronnes, fried Pork Rinds and the Salsa is made from Tomatillos, a green Tomato like plant, that doesn't exist here in Europe.

I wanted to recreate this dish from scratch, but without the Tomatillos I can only make the Chicharronnes. So here they are.

Ingredients:

Pork Rind or Pork Belly, cut into 1 inch pieces

Sea Salt

Black Pepper

Paprika

Cayenne Pepper

Your Finest Water

Place the Pork Rinds into a large Wok, season and cover with water.

Bring to a simmer and cook until all the Water has gone and the Pork Fat has rendered completely. (this can take 1-3 hours depending how many pieces you have in the wok)

Turn the pieces over occasionally. Be careful as they may spit!

Once the Pieces starting to brown and simmer in pure fat, turn up the heat and fry them for about 5 minutes until blistered and crisp.
Remove them with a slotted spoon and let them dry off on some kitchen paper.

It would be deceiving to think the fact that they are Pork Rinds makes this very fatty, but as all the fat has been rendered out, they are left just light, crispy and tasty, not greasy at all.

We discovered that  the Mexican staple Chilli Sauce 'Tajin' is a perfect dip for them.