Tacos with chicharrón (tacos sudados de chicharrón prensado)
Chicharrón is meat from pork, coming directly from the porks outer skin; this ingredient is similar to fried pork rinds. The tradition for preparing and eating this meat cut can be traced back to Andalusia in Spain; it is now enjoyed thoughout Mexico and South America in general. Although surprisingly pork rind has no carbs whatsoever, ahem, its fat content is higher than other healthier cuts; so this wouldn't be on your
shopping list for a light diet meal. But what can I say... they are yummy so let's keep them for those special occasions! Here is the recipe for how Mexicans eat them in their tacos...
Also, in this taco's name you see the word "sudados"... Sudados when talking about tacos means sweated; it is a way to serve and keep tacos wrapped up in a basket covered with a damp cloth, so that the humidity is trapped inside and moistens the tacos.
Recipe for Tacos with chicharrón:
* 1/2 lb. of chicharrón
* Pepper to the taste
* 4 chilies guajillos
* 2 ancho chilies
* 2 red tomatoes
* 1 onion
* 2 clove of garlic
* Fresh cilantro if available; if not coriander powder
* 40 corn tortillas
* oil
* Water
You will need some kind of taco woven basket to make them 'sudados'
Preparation:
1) Roast the chilis, roast the tomato, all the garlic and the onion and season all this with black pepper.
2) Peel the garlic, once it is roasted and with help of a food processor, liquefy all the ingredients from step one, with a little bit of water,
pulsing until you have a homogeneous sauce. Reserve a little bit of sauce to garnish the tacos and the rest.
3) Put it in a frying pan together with the chicharrón, chopped to small pieces, season to your taste.
4) Allow it to cook until it starts releasing the fat, but make sure you keep mixing and to prevent everything from sticking.
5) Fry the tortillas in hot oil, pull them out after 2 minutes of frying, drain them well and fill with the filling we just did.
6) Prepare the basket by first putting in it a warm, slightly damp cloth lining the inside, put the tacos inside the basket
another very slightly damp cloth will cover all the tacos once they are all in; so that they 'sweat'.
7) Add a little bit of cilantro or coriander to the sauce that we had reserved, mix it well, season with salt if necessary.
Serve your tacos with chicharron with this salsa...
