Tacos de castacán
Tacos de castacán are Yucatecan tacos of pork belly, fatty meat with its skin attached, cooked slowly in fat until the skin turns crisp and the meat stays soft; in Mérida they are a popular breakfast taco.
The cut
Castacán is a cut from the belly of the pig: a layer of fatty meat covered by skin that browns and crackles as it cooks. México Desconocido describes it as a piece from the underside of the Yucatecan pelón pig, the hairless local breed, and stresses that the cut, the preliminary treatment and the cooking all differ from the chicharrón con carnita familiar in Mexico City. The appeal lies in the contrast between the crisp, glassy skin and the soft, rich meat beneath it. Food and Pleasure adds that it is fried slowly over low heat to make it crunchier.
In Mérida
In Mérida castacán is eaten mainly in tacos and tortas, often in the morning. México Desconocido singles out Wayan'e in the Itzimná neighborhood, where castacán tacos appear on the list of breakfast tacos and the castacán torta with cheese is the house specialty; the stand tends to sell out by early afternoon. The same article notes that chef Roberto Solís, a leading figure of new Yucatecan cooking, serves his own interpretation at his restaurant Néctar: a taco of confited pork with green tomato salad, grilled pineapple, sour orange, pickled x'catik chile and avocado cream. Posta calls castacán a little Yucatecan gem and notes that the taco is most often eaten with purple onion and habanero chile.
Beyond Yucatán
The cut has followed Yucatecan cooking to Mexico City. Food and Pleasure reported in 2024 on a taquería named Castacán in Roma Norte, where castacán tacos are the specialty alongside oven-roasted lechón and cochinita pibil, served with salsas ranging from sweet-and-sour to fiery. México Desconocido links the cut to the wider revival of interest in Yucatecan cooking, and calls it a delicacy still little known outside the peninsula.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg skin-on pork belly in one piece
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Juice of 2 sour oranges (or 1/3 cup orange juice plus 2 tablespoons lime juice)
- 500 g pork lard
- 12 corn tortillas
- Pickled red onion (onion, sour orange, salt, a little habanero)
- Habanero salsa
Steps
- Score the meat side (not the skin) of the belly, rub with salt, oregano and citrus juice, then refrigerate uncovered overnight with the skin facing up so it dries.
- Melt the lard in a heavy pot to a depth of about 4 cm and heat to around 120 C. Add the belly skin side up and cook gently for about 2 hours until the meat is very tender.
- Raise the heat to 180 C, turn the belly skin side down and fry until the skin puffs and crackles, 5 to 10 minutes. Watch for spattering.
- Drain, rest 5 minutes and chop into small pieces, keeping some skin with each bite.
- Serve on warm tortillas with pickled red onion and habanero salsa.
Patting the skin completely dry and salting it the night before is the key to a crisp result.
Where to try it
- Wayan'e, Mérida: Itzimná stand known for castacán tacos and tortas, per México Desconocido
- Castacán, Mexico City: Roma Norte Yucatecan taquería specializing in castacán tacos, per Food and Pleasure (2024)
Reviews
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See also
- Tacos de lechón
- Tacos de cochinita pibil
- Tacos de chicharrón
- Tacos de relleno negro
- Tacos de queso relleno
References
- "Castacán de Mérida, un manjar poco conocido". México Desconocido. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Castacán, lechón al horno y cochinita pibil en esta nueva taquería yucateca de la CDMX". Food and Pleasure. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "¿Cuáles son los tacos que se comen en Yucatán?". Posta. Retrieved 2026-10-10.