Chicharrón
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Appetizer | |
Place of origin | Spain |
---|---|
Region or state | Andalusia |
Serving temperature | Hot or cold |
Main ingredients | Pork |
Chicharrón (Spanish: [tʃitʃaˈron], plural chicharrones; Portuguese: torresmo [tuˈʁeʒmu, toˈʁezmu, toˈʁeʒmu]; Tagalog: sitsaron; Chamorro: chachalon) is a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or fried pork rinds. Chicharrón may also be made from chicken, mutton, or beef.
Name
Chicharrón, as a dish with sauce, or chicharrones as finger-food snacks, are popular in
National variants
The
Belize
In Belize, chicharrón made from pork belly can be served with escabeche (onion soup). There are other variations of chicharrón in Belize made from beef skin.
Bolivia
Chicharrón is made of pork ribs seasoned with garlic, oregano and lemon. It is boiled then cooked in its own fat, adding beer or ). There are other variations of chicharrón made with chicken and fish.
Brazil
In Brazil, it is known as torresmo. The dish may be seasoned with garlic, pepper, and/or other spices. It is cooked in its own fat or oil; the finished product is typically complemented with a wedge of lime.
Canada
Oreilles de crisse is a traditional Quebec dish consisting of deep-fried salted fatback. It is generally served in cabanes à sucre (sugar shacks) in spring time, as a "palate cleanser" between maple syrup-laden foods.
Chile
Chicharrones are made of fat, sometimes with a bit of meat, and are typically served with homemade bread.
Colombia
Chicharrón is made from deep-fried pig skin with meat attached, but it can also be made from chicken skin. In the
Costa Rica
Chicharrones are made by frying pork (usually ribs) in fat, and are associated with several dishes. Most Costa Ricans eat them with rangpur or lime juice and fried yuca, accompanied by tortillas. They are also a main ingredient in a popular dish called chifrijo, which also combines red beans, rice, and pico de gallo.
Trinidad & Tobago
Chicharrón is usually eaten with tostones. It is prepared by washing and drying pork and cutting it into small pieces, which are seasoned with a mix of lemon juice and salt.
El Salvador
Pupusas are often filled with chopped chicharrón as a stuffing.
Guam
The dish is known in the local Chamorro language as chachalon, derived from the food's Spanish name.
Guatemala
Chicharrón is eaten with tortillas, lime, guacamole, and moronga, and sometimes served with pico de gallo or Chirmol salsa. Also known as carnitas in Guatemala, these refer to a meatier part of the pork rind. Where a chicharrón is, strictly speaking, skin and fat, carnitas denotes skin with some meat as well. (In other places, carnitas generally refers to fried pork meat without skin or a stew-like dish made from it.)
Mexico
Besides chicharrón made from pig skin and fat, snack-food companies
Peru
Chicharrón in Perú is made using what is called "country-style pork rib" in the United States. The rind (skin and attached fat) is not used at all; instead, the meat is boiled with seasonings and spices until no water remains and then fried in its own fat. It is often served as a breakfast or brunch food on a baguette with a relish made of red onion and lime juice. Chicharrón can be eaten as an
Philippines
Chicharon, less commonly spelled tsitsaron, is ubiquitous, as it is a well-loved snack, and may be bought anywhere, from large supermarket chains to small neighborhood
Aside from pork rind, chicken skin may also be made into chicharong manok, whereas chicharong bulaklak—literally 'flower chicharrón', named for its distinctive shape—is made from pork mesentery.[1]
Tuna-skin chicharon is marketed as a healthier variation. In Cagayan, water buffalo hide is used to make carabao chicharon.[2]
A distinct variant of chicharon involves cooking pork loin and meat in the same way, becoming bagnet. While similar and dissimilar to crispy pata, it is more popular as a meal than finger food, and has found its way to contemporary dishes and restaurants. Bagnet originates from Ilocos where it has been served since the 1960s.[3]
Puerto Rico
Serbia
In Serbia they are called čvarci. Usually made during the slaughter of pigs for the winter. Usually cooked with milk and lard to give them a nice gold color after they have been pressed through a pressure sift to make them have the texture of chips.
United States
In New Mexico, the term is often taken to mean just fried pork fat, sometimes with incidental bits of lean meat. Similar to the Mexican chicharrón, its use in New Mexican cuisine is most commonly in bean burritos with chopped New Mexico chile. It is colloquially prepared by frying in a disco, a wok-like pan made from a repurposed tractor disc blade.
Uruguay
Chicharrones are a byproduct of tallow making in Uruguay. Usually extracted from the softest fat of the cow located on the kidneys, this fat is known as grasa de pella. The pella is heated until melt and the solid residue are the chicharrones. Chicharrones are traditionally used as additive for a typical bread called rosca de chicharrones.
Venezuela
In central Venezuela, chicharrones are eaten with
Other countries
Pork rind is also eaten in many other countries in forms unrelated to the chicharrón tradition. For example, in Denmark, flæskesvær is pork skin deep-fried with or without a layer of fat. It is usually eaten as a snack, like crisps (chips) or popcorn. At Christmas-time it is also traditional to eat fried strips of pork belly the skin on, with or without meat in addition to fat. In the countryside in Greece, during Christmas time people prepare "tsigarídes" which is deep fried pork belly skin. In the United Kingdom Pork Rinds are called "pork scratchings". They are a popular snack sold in pubs and bars, packaged in small plastic bags like potato crisps.
Similar foods
- Duros, also known as chicharrones
- Lechon kawali
- Philippine cuisine
- Torreznos
- Tocino
- Siu yuk
See also
References
- ^ Cuisinegineer (3 February 2011). "Reel and Grill: Tsitsaron or Chicharon Bulaklak (Deep Fried Pork Mesentery)". Reel and Grill – via Blogspot.
- ^ Santos, Kara (19 March 2017). "5 reasons to visit Cagayan this summer". ABS-CBN News.
- ^ "Did You Know That Bagnet is Called 'Chicharon' in Ilocos?". yummy.ph.
- ^ "Buenapetito! - Base de recetas y restaurantes de Puerto Rico". Buenapetitopr.com.
- ^ Zeldes, Leah A. (May 12, 2010). "Eat this! Chicharron, mighty meaty crunch". Dining Chicago. Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2010.