Tacos de carne de chango
Tacos de carne de chango are tacos of smoked, citrus-marinated pork from Catemaco and the Los Tuxtlas region of Veracruz; despite the name, which means monkey meat, the modern dish is made with pork.
Name and history
Chango is Mexican Spanish for monkey, and the name is not merely a joke. Uno TV reports that from roughly the 1940s to the 1970s the dish was made in the Los Tuxtlas area with meat from local spider and howler monkeys. Those populations collapsed under deforestation and hunting, and the monkeys are now protected, so the recipe moved to pork. La Jornada del Campo, writing about the foodways of the region, stresses that what Catemaco restaurants serve today is smoked, spice-marinated pork, not primate meat.
The name stuck, and carne de chango is now one of the best-known specialties of Catemaco, the lakeside town also known for its lore of healers and witches.
Preparation
Pork loin is the usual cut. According to Spanish-language Wikipedia, it is marinated for a few hours in lime or orange juice with salt, pepper and sometimes garlic and achiote, then smoked for several hours over a fire of freshly cut green wood such as guava or orange. Sugarcane or piloncillo is sometimes added to the fire to thicken the smoke. The combination of citrus, achiote and smoke gives the meat a reddish color and a distinctive, slightly sweet perfume. Uno TV adds sour orange, guajillo chile and epazote to the list of common seasonings.
Before serving, the smoked pork is typically sliced and reheated on a grill or griddle, which crisps the edges.
Serving
The meat can be eaten as a plated main course or folded into tacos, the form most visitors meet at stands and restaurants around the lake. Uno TV notes that it is also served at weddings, baptisms and patron saint festivals in the region. Tacos are usually finished simply, with salsa and onion, so the smoky meat leads.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg pork loin, cut into 2 cm thick slabs
- Juice of 3 sour oranges (or 1 cup orange juice plus 1/4 cup lime juice)
- Juice of 2 limes
- 2 guajillo chiles, toasted, soaked and blended with the juice
- 1 tablespoon achiote paste
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Fruit-wood chunks (guava, orange, apple or cherry)
- 16 corn tortillas
- Chopped white onion, salsa and lime wedges
Steps
- Blend the citrus juices, guajillo, achiote, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the pork and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 4 hours.
- Set up a smoker or kettle grill for indirect heat at about 110 C with soaked fruit-wood chunks.
- Smoke the pork until it reaches 63 C inside and is deep red, 2 to 3 hours, adding wood as needed.
- Rest 10 minutes, then slice thinly.
- Sear the slices briefly on a hot griddle until the edges crisp.
- Serve on warm tortillas with onion, salsa and lime.
The smoked pork keeps for several days refrigerated and is easily reheated on a comal.
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See also
References
- "Carne de chango". Wikipedia (Spanish). Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "¿Lleva mono? Conoce la carne de chango, el popular platillo de Catemaco, Veracruz". Uno TV. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "La gastronomía, un aporte biodiverso al sabor". La Jornada del Campo. Retrieved 2026-10-10.