Chicharrones, Chicharrines and Carnitas, Anyone, Anyone?

Chicharrones, Chicharrines and Carnitas, Anyone, Anyone?

Carnitas is the Guatemalan Spanish word for chunks of meat from pork. Chicharrones is the word for pork rinds which still keep a little bit of meat or fat. Chicharrines are pork rinds made from just the pork skin, no fat or meat left on the chicharrines (these are very crunchy).

Believe it or not, Guatemalans still cook with lard and they enjoy very much their carnitas, chicharrones and chicharrines, especially when they are cooked on the spot and served still hot along an ensalada de rábanos (radish salad) freshly made tortillas, lemon slices and deep fried jalapeños. A portion like the one above can set you back Q15; not bad for 4 ounces of carnitas.

If you want to abandon your healthy lifestyle for day, you can find this carnitas and chicharrones booth on the exit road to Ciudad Vieja, just one block away from the Soleil hotel (previously Radisson) on Thursday through Sunday. Bon Appetite!

Making Chicharrones and Carnitas, Guatemalan Cuisine: Chicharrones Guatemalan Cuisine: Carnitas

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This entry was written by and posted on Monday, December 29, 2008 at 10:36 pm and is filed under Food & Drinks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • http://mariposaenlapared.blogspot.com/ janna

    I am so glad you finally set me straight on the chicharrones/chicharrines thing. I love pupusas de chicharron, pero cuando me voy a la tienda a comprar chicharrones, solo encuentro bolsas de chicharrines, and I know those crunchy things can’t possibly be the same thing used to make pupusa filling. The best I’ve been able to do is grind up leftover pork roast with some tomatoes to make the pupusas. It’s not quite the same though. These carnitas me dan mucha hambre, que ricas!

  • Cynthia

    Hi,
    Again love all the food photos! Being a vegitarian I can not enjoy this plate of food, but I can appriciate it. Looks wonderfull and I can only imagine how wonderful it taste.
    Question, how does deep frying the Jalapenos effect the flavor and the heat of them if at all? I have seen this and simular dishes and wondered how they would be.
    Thank you.
    Cynthia

  • Jerry Brown

    Ooooooooooohhhhhhhh…….
    I see you are resorting to food photography again. :-)
    Not fair, going straight to the chicharrones.
    If I am told that I have cancer and am going to die soon, I am going to eat chicharrones for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with an occasional bowl of ceviche for a snack.

  • http://yankee-in-belgrade.blogspot.com Bibi

    This looks so good. I always click on food photos on the portal, and I’m glad I clicked on yours!

  • Ale

    Yum! I always love your food photos.

  • http://antiguadailyphoto.com Rudy Girón

    @Janna, I prefer carnitas, but chicharrones and chicharrines are welcome anytime. Will I ever have the opportunity to try your pupusas?

    @Cynthia, I try to accommodate vegetarians as well as for one brief period of my life I was also a vegetarian. The flavor of the deep-fried jalapeños is awesome, less spicy and with softer skin.

    @Jerry, next time you come to La Antigua Guatemala, I promise I will take you to have these carnitas and chicharrones. I will invite so make sure you have plenty!

    @Bibi, thanks for the visit. I am glad you click on the food shot too. I wil go visit your web site later on.

    @Ale, there are plenty of Guatemalan food photos so far and there are PLENTY more to come… stay tune!

  • http://mariposaenlapared.blogspot.com/ janna

    I sure hope so, Rudy! I read that Antigua has a cooking school, and I think it would be divine to do that sometime. I could mail you some; I froze some tamales de elote and sent them priority mail to a friend of mine. They arrived thawed but still edible!

  • Mick Euan Tait

    I live just down the road from the place mentioned and so I usually have carnitas and chicharrones once a week. I like to refer to Chicharrines as chicharrones Lite!

  • Aura

    My husband and I plan to visit Guate later this year and seeing all this food I can’t wait. My Mom makes some of these dishes here but I’m sure the flavor will be diferent.

  • Cynthia

    Rudy, Thank you for your responce, I will try this at my next BBQ.
    I enjoy all of the food photos, carnivorous or not! I tend to study food from all over the world. our food photos always look so good I leave the computer hungry and go shopping for ingredients.
    Best regards,
    Cynthia

  • Pingback: How to make Guatemalan Chicharrones | AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com

  • http://www.ClimaYa.com neavilag

    BTW. What we called Carnitas here is Chicharrones y Costa Rica.

  • Pingback: Guatemalan Cuisine: Chojin | AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com