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Pork cuts for tacos

From WikiTacos, the taco encyclopedia · Ingredient
Also known as: Cortes de cerdo

Mexican taquerías use nearly every part of the pig, from lean maciza and ribs to skin, stomach and other offal, each sold as a named taco. The richest vocabulary belongs to carnitas, but pork also fills al pastor, chicharrón and many guisados.

Contents
  1. Background
  2. Carnitas cuts
  3. Other pork tacos
  4. Reviews
  5. See also
  6. References

Background

There were no pigs in Mexico before the Spanish; by 1525 Hernán Cortés was raising them in the Toluca Valley, according to Mexico News Daily. Michoacán, and especially Quiroga, is widely credited as the home of carnitas, though Querétaro, Jalisco, Hidalgo and the State of Mexico also claim it.

Carnitas cuts

Larousse defines carnitas as small pieces of pork fried in the animal's own lard. The cuts most often named on a carnitas counter are: maciza, boneless meat from the loin or leg, considered the finest though lean and prone to dryness; costilla, ribs, prized for tenderness and among the most expensive; cuerito, the skin; buche, the stomach; nana, the uterus; nenepil, a mix of nana and buche; barriga or pancita, belly; and trompa, snout, oreja, ear, and other offal finely chopped. A surtida mixes several parts; achicalada refers to the scraps left at the bottom of the carnitas pot. Mexico News Daily adds that sesos, lengua, manitas, viril and criadillas also have their fans.

Other pork tacos

Al pastor and tacos de trompo use thin slices of marinated pork stacked on a spit; Texas Monthly notes the cone is usually pork. Cochinita pibil uses pork or suckling pig marinated in achiote and sour orange. Pork skin becomes chicharrón, and its pressed residue chicharrón prensado.

Reviews

Reviews and tips open at launch. Readers will be able to share where they found the best version of this and how they make it at home.

See also

References

  1. "Carnitas". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  2. "¿Qué parte del cerdo son las carnitas?". El Financiero. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  3. "Tacos de carnitas: qué es el buche, la nana y el nenepil y de qué parte salen". N+. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  4. "Tacos de nana, bofe, nenepil: glosario taquero". Chilango. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  5. "State by Plate: Michoacán and carnitas". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
  6. "Trompo Tacos Are So Much More Than Tacos al Pastor". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
Categories: Ingredients Meat cuts Pork