Chicharrón en salsa verde
Chicharrón en salsa verde is a stew of fried pork rind simmered in a tomatillo and green chile sauce until the crackling softens and turns gelatinous. It is one of the most common fillings for tacos de guisado, tacos acorazados and tacos de canasta in central Mexico.
Chicharrón
The base ingredient is chicharrón, crisp fried pork skin. The Larousse encyclopedic dictionary of Mexican gastronomy describes a lengthy process: the skin is scraped, lightly scored without being pierced, salted and air-dried for two or three days; it is then poached in warm lard so it cooks without browning, dried again and finally plunged into very hot lard, where it puffs and becomes brittle. Thin chicharrón is lighter and more fragile, thick chicharrón harder and more substantial. In Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí it may simply be called cuero or cuero duro.
Larousse lists chicharrón in green sauce among the standard Mexican preparations of pork rind, together with tacos de chicharrón, tacos placeros, pressed chicharrón, salads and chicharrón with refried beans.
The guisado
To make the stew, broken pieces of chicharrón are added to a cooked green salsa of tomatillos, fresh chiles, onion and garlic. As the rind simmers it absorbs the liquid; cooks choose how long to cook it according to taste, some serving it while pieces still have a little bite and others cooking it until fully soft. The sauce thickens from the collagen released by the skin, giving the dish its rich, slightly sticky texture. A red version, made with tomato and dried or fresh red chiles, is also common.
El Universal names chicharrón in green or red salsa among the typical stews of the taco de guisado, and Food and Pleasure lists chicharrón verde among the fillings of the Morelos taco acorazado, which sets the stew on rice and a double tortilla. Excélsior notes that pressed chicharrón stewed in dried-chile adobo is one of the four basic fillings of the basket taco.
Serving
In taco form, a spoonful of the stew goes onto a warm tortilla, usually with a layer of red rice beneath and sometimes refried beans alongside. Because the sauce is already spicy and acidic, little else is needed beyond an extra spoonful of salsa or a few slices of onion. As a plated dish it is commonly served for breakfast or lunch with beans and tortillas.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g tomatillos, husked
- 2 to 4 serrano chiles
- 1/4 white onion, plus 1/4 onion sliced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/3 cup cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lard or oil
- 200 g chicharrón (thin, crisp pork rind), broken into bite-size pieces
- 1 to 2 cups water or stock
- Salt
- Corn tortillas, red rice and refried beans for serving
Steps
- Simmer the tomatillos and chiles in water until olive green and soft, about 10 minutes. Drain.
- Blend with the chopped onion, garlic, cilantro and a little cooking water until smooth.
- Heat the lard in a wide pot, add the sliced onion and cook 2 minutes, then pour in the salsa; it will spatter. Cook 5 minutes until darker and slightly thickened.
- Add 1 cup water and salt; bring to a simmer.
- Stir in the chicharrón and cook 5 to 15 minutes, adding more liquid as needed, until the rind reaches the texture you like.
- Serve in warm tortillas over a spoonful of rice, with beans on the side.
Use thin, airy chicharrón for a softer stew and thicker pieces if you like some chew. It thickens as it stands; loosen with water when reheating.
Where to try it
- La Bici, Naucalpan
- La Güera de Churubusco, Mexico City
- Tacos Richard, Mexico City
Reviews
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See also
References
- "Chicharrón". Larousse Cocina. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "¿De dónde son los tacos de guisado?". El Universal. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "5 platillos típicos de Morelos que debes probar si vas el fin de semana". Food and Pleasure. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "De Tlaxcala para el mundo: La verdadera historia de los tacos de canasta". Excélsior. Retrieved 2026-10-10.