Tacos de chamorro
Tacos de chamorro are tacos of pork shank or knuckle, slow-cooked until the meat falls from the bone, whether confited carnitas-style, baked, braised in birria or steamed in adobo.
Overview
Chamorro is the lower leg of the pig, the cut known in Spain as codillo. Directo al Paladar describes Mexican chamorro adobado as a dish of family meals, long weekends and celebrations, in which the shank is coated in chile adobo and steamed so that it stays juicy. The meat is usually pulled from the bone and served with fresh corn tortillas so that each diner can build tacos.
In Mexico City chamorro is both a restaurant centerpiece, served whole for sharing, and a taco filling. A 2016 Chilango roundup of the city's favorite chamorros found it served whole in a cazuela, carnitas-style in tacos, baked, glazed in sweet and sour sauce, and braised as birria.
Preparation
For the adobado version, Directo al Paladar soaks ancho and guajillo chiles, blends them with garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, cloves and black pepper, coats the shanks and marinates them overnight. Each piece is wrapped in foil or banana leaf with a bay leaf and extra adobo and steamed over water for two and a half to three hours, until the meat pulls easily from the bone. The leftover adobo is boiled with the cooking juices to make a sauce.
Other cooks use the carnitas method, cooking the shank in lard alongside the rest of the pig. Don Raúl, a Michoacán-style carnitas stand in Ciudad Jardín whose recipe comes from Morelia, is recommended by Excélsior specifically for its chamorro taco.
In Mexico City
Chilango's roundup describes several styles. Páramo in Roma serves a confited shank called La Muñeca, slow-cooked in a cazuela and offered whole or in tacos. Tlacoquemécatl in Del Valle makes it carnitas-style for tacos. Chamorros de Mérida in Roma chops it small into tortillas with cilantro, onion and green and red salsas. Secundino, also in Roma, braises it as birria and serves it in a two-tone tortilla of white and blue corn with beans and nopales. These listings date from 2016 and may have changed.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pork shanks (about 1 kg total)
- 3 ancho chiles and 3 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 white onion
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 100 ml water or broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 16 corn tortillas
- Chopped onion, cilantro, lime, pickled red onion
Steps
- Soak the chiles in hot water for 10 minutes until soft. Drain.
- Blend with garlic, onion, cumin, oregano, cloves, peppercorns, salt and the water into a thick paste.
- Season the shanks, coat with most of the adobo and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Keep the rest of the adobo.
- Wrap each shank in foil or banana leaf with a bay leaf and a spoonful of reserved adobo.
- Steam on a rack over simmering water, covered, for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, topping up the water as needed, until the meat slides off the bone.
- Unwrap, pull the meat from the bone and chop. Boil the remaining adobo with the juices until slightly thickened and spoon over the meat.
- Serve in warm tortillas with onion, cilantro, lime and pickled onion.
Where to try it
- Don Raúl, Mexico City: Ciudad Jardín carnitas stand with Morelia roots, recommended by Excélsior for its chamorro taco.
- Chamorros de Mérida, Mexico City: Roma restaurant serving chopped chamorro tacos with green and red salsas.
- Don Chamorro, Querétaro
- Tacos Los Estadios, Veracruz
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
- "Cómo preparar chamorro adobado, el codillo mexicano más jugoso". Directo al Paladar. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Éstos son nuestros chamorros favoritos en la CDMX". Chilango. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "¿Dónde comer carnitas en la CDMX? Los lugares con los mejores tacos". Excélsior. Retrieved 2026-10-10.