Simple Ground Pork for Pupusas (Chicharron)

This is such a simple way to make chicharron. My mom taught me to make this recipe and she was right, is super easy, chicharron is well cooked, and it has great flavor. This is exactly what you need to make pupusas with chicharron and cheese.

There are other ways to make chicharrones, and also chicharron. However, my mom says this process ensures the meat is thoroughly cooked.

To make “pupusas revueltas”, which literally means mixed pupusas, we combined cheese and chicharron; in other areas of El Salvador people call them revueltas when adding refried beans too. You can make endless combinations, it’s all about preferences in the ingredients you want to use for the stuffing.

Simple Ingredients

Pork shoulder: You could also use pork belly.

Tomato

Onion

Anaheim pepper

Garlic

Salt

How to make chicharron (Step by Step)

1. Cut your meat to about 1 inch size cubes. Rub with kosher salt.
2. Add pork to a pan, then add the water to barely cover them, and add a bay leaf (optional). Cover them with a lid and cook them at low-medium heat for one hour, until the water gets absorbed.
3. Once the water is absorbed and the meat is soft, add one tablespoon of oil to the pan and continue to cook them to brown them. Stir them occasionally to ensure all sides are browned. Take them out of the heat/stove.
4. Cut all your veggies to about 1/2 inch size cubes. Add them to the pan of chicharrones and stir to combine everything. No cooking in this step. Add the garlic at the point as well.
5. Using a high speed blender, add chicharrones mixture to the blender one cup at a time. This means add one cup and blend until that is roughly ground, then another cup, and so forth until all the chicharrones are grounded.
6. In a pan, add the remaining oil and add the ground pork to refry it. This takes just about five minutes. Make sure to stir the mixture regularly until is all refried. Let the chicharron rest to cool completely.
7. Now is ready to mix it in with shredded cheese to make Pupusas de chicharron! Enjoy!

How to serve

We use chicharron to make pupusas mainly. But you can use it as a dip, or to make chilaquiles. There are many options.

How to store

I freeze it for up to two months in smaller bags (sandwich bags). Then, I only grab one bag at a time to make pupusas regularly.

Simple Ground Pork for Pupusas (Chicharron)

Author: Patricia Densley Cooking Method:Boiling, Sautéing Cuisine:Salvadoran Courses:Sides Recipe Keys: G Ground pork for pupusas C Chicharron

:BeginnerPrep time: 20 minutesCook time:1 hour 20 minutesRest time: 10 minutesTotal time:1 hour 50 minutesServings:12 servingsCalories:300 kcal Best Season:Suitable throughout the year

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. pork meat (I used picnic style meat which is pork shoulder)
• 1/2 Tblsp. kosher salt
• 1 tomato
• 1 anaheim pepper
• 1 small white or yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 cups water (enough to barely cover the meat)
• 2 Tblps. oil ( I used canola)
• 1 bay leaf (optional)

Instructions

1. Cut your meat to about 1 inch size cubes. Rub with kosher salt.
2. Add pork to a pan, then add the water to barely cover them, and add a bay leaf (optional). Cover them with a lid and cook them at low-medium heat for one hour, until the water gets absorbed.
3. Once the water is absorbed and the meat is soft, add one tablespoon of oil to the pan and continue to cook them to brown them. Stir them occasionally to ensure all sides are browned. Take them out of the heat/stove.
4. Cut all your veggies to about 1/2 inch size cubes. Add them to the pan of chicharrones and stir to combine everything. No cooking in this step. Add the garlic at the point as well.
5. Using a high speed blender, add chicharrones mixture to the blender one cup at a time. This means add one cup and blend until that is roughly ground, then another cup, and so forth until all the chicharrones are grounded.
6. In a pan, add the remaining oil and add the ground pork to refry it. This takes just about five minutes. Make sure to stir the mixture regularly until is all refried. Let the chicharron rest to cool completely.
7. 
   Now is ready to mix it in with shredded cheese to make Pupusas de chicharron! Enjoy!

Notes

• -To blend chicharron, you can also use a kitchen-aid attachment for ground meat.
• -To blend chicharron, you could use a high speed food processor.

Keywords:Easy chicharron, Chicharron para pupusas