The Pupusa series, Episode 3: El Chicharrón (Pupusa pork filling)

The best traditional pupusa pork filling, El Chicharrón.

In El Salvador pupusas are commonly made with Chicharron, cheese, beans, loroco and zucchini flower. As their popularity grows the fillings have evolved and you can find vegetarian and vegan options. I have also seen fillings with seafood and chicken.

One of my favorite pupusas are the ones made with chicharron, cheese and beans or just chicharron and cheese. These are often known as "revueltas," which means "mixed." This means that multiple ingredients are mixed together to make the pupusa.

What is Chicharron?

The Chircharron used to make pupusas is made with pork. You can select what cut you want to use but a good mix of lean and fat is preferred. I like using the pork shoulder or the leg for a good ratio of fat and lean mean. El chicharron is made by cutting the pork into small pieces, seasoning it, frying it, processing it and refrying it again. I consider the chicharron to be good when it's well seasoned. To achieve this after frying the chicharron you sauté it with tomato, pepper, garlic and onions. Many people add it raw when processing the chicharron but in my opinion it taste better when sautéd together.

Another tip when making chicharron is to season the pork, many salvadoran restaurants just add salt and nothing else. I took some of the seasonings that they use for Carne Frita in Puerto Rico and it added so much flavor to it. All ingredients and detailed instructions are below!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs Pork shoulder or Pork leg

• 1 tbsp Salt

• 1 tbsp ground black pepper

• 1/2 tbsp oregano

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 stp ground cumin

• 1/2 tbsp chicken buillon

• 1/2 tbsp adobo

• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder

• 1/2 white onion

• 4-5 garlic cloves

• 1/2 green bell pepper

• 4-5 roma tomatoes

Instructions:

1. Cut the pork into 1-1/2 inch pieces

2. Clean the pork with water, white vinegar, lime and salt.

3. Pat it dry and season with all the seasonings listed, cover and let it marinade for min 30 mins in the fridge.

4. Get a big frying pan and turn to medium heat.

5. Once the pan is hot add the pork. When you see it start to release water, cover it and let it cook on medium heat for about 45 mins - 1hr or until tender.

6. During this time cut up your vegetables into 1/2 inch pieces.

7. Remove the pot cover and now let it cook for another 30 mins. During this time the water will evaporate and only the fat should be left. The pork will start to fry in its own lard. Keep close attention to it and stir it every 20 mins. We don't want it to fry too much and get too crunchy.

8. Once it gets to the perfect golden brown turn off the heat and place the chicharron to drain on a frying rack. You can store the lard or safety dispose of it.

9. In the same pan add in your cut vegetables and lightly season with salt and pepper. Sauté the vegetables until the tomatoes start to release their juice.

10. Add your chicharron back in and sauté for 10 mins to allow the pork to stew with the vegetables. This will add a delicious flavor, turn off the heat and let it cool.

11. Once cooled, it's time to process it. You can do this in a processor, blender or if you have a grinder you can use that as well. You want the consistency to still have tiny pieces of meat and not fully a paste.

12. In the same pan, turn the heat to medium and refry the processed chicharron. Refry it until golden brown, it will take about 10 mins depending on the amount. Stir it often to prevent over frying or burning it.

13. Take it off the heat, allow it to cool. If you are making pupusas immediately I recommend you put the amount you'll be using in a container and place it in the fridge to cool. Anything that you won't be using immediately needs to be stored in air tight containers and placed in the freezer. Divide portions based on how many pupusas you'll make at a time. Normally a cup of chicharron should be enough anywhere btw 6-10 pupusas depending on how much filling you add to each.