Homemade Chicharon made of pork rinds deep-fried to golden perfection! Crunchy and tasty, these pork cracklings are crunchy, tasty, and are the ultimate low-carb treat. They are best served with spicy vinegar dip.
Before we proceed, let me forewarn you this chicharron recipe, albeit a simple process, takes a good few hours to make. Itโs probably not something youโd want to do regularly. Considering the time involved and that pork cracklings are relatively inexpensive, you'd be better off with store-bought than homemade.
Now, if you are concerned about what goes on your food, enjoy experimenting in the kitchen, or just have a free afternoon to waste spare, then this is the perfect cooking project for you!
What are Chicharrones Made of
Although chicharrones generally consist of fried pork belly or pork rinds, these delicious cracklings have taken many forms in Philippine cuisine. They are also made using other ingredients such as pork ears, intestines (isaw), omentum (bulaklak), mushrooms, fish skins, and balat ng manok in chicken skin chicharon.
Another popular Filipino variant is the Ilocos bagnet, a cross between lechon kawali and chicharon and uses a double-fry method to attain its characteristic crispness.
I use a simple solution of vinegar, peppercorns, crushed garlic, and salt to infuse flavor and tenderize the pork rinds. The vinegar also helps draw out moisture for maximum crackling.
How to Make Chicharon
- Cut the pork rinds into about 1 ยฝ to 2 inches. They will initially shrink in size when they render their fat in the oven but will expand and puff up when deep-fried in hot oil.
- Cook in vinegar, water, garlic, peppercorns, and salt until tender but not falling apart. Drain well and refrigerate to cool completely.
- Arrange the rinds in a single layer on a rack and pat down any excess moisture.
- In olden times, the cooked skins are laid out under the hot sun to dry out. Since this method is not exactly doable in cold weather and is unhygienic, for one thing, I prefer to use the oven to dehydrate the skins until shrunken and brittle.
- Deep-fry in hot oil until golden and crispy and begins to float. For the best texture, do not overcrowd the pan and fry in batches as needed to maintain proper oil temperature.
- Remove from pan and drain on a wire rack โ season with salt and spices as desired.
Quick tip
For more meaty tsitsaron, you can use pork belly or liempo without ribs.
Serving suggestions and storage instructions
- This tsitsaron baboy is a tasty, low-carb snack or appetizer and a great way to boost flavor in other dishes such as ginisang munggo and pancit palabok.
- Transfer the dried, uncooked pork rinds to a resealable bag or airtight container and refrigerate until ready to fry.
- To maintain freshness, store the fried pork rinds in airtight containers in a cool, dry place.
More tasty pork recipes
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork rinds, cut into 2-inch sizes
- ยผ cup vinegar
- 1 head garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- water
- canola oil
Instructions
- In a deep pot, combine pork rinds, vinegar, garlic, salt, peppercorns, and enough water to cover. Over medium heat, bring to a boil, skimming scum that floats on top.
- Lower heat, cover, and continue to cook for about 40 to 50 minutes or until tender but not falling apart.
- Drain well, discarding the liquid and aromatics. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until completely cooled.
- Arrange pork rinds in a single layer on wire rack set over a baking sheet. Bake in a 200 F oven for about 3 to 4 hours or until shrunken, dry, and brittle.ย Remove from the oven.
- In a thick-bottomed pot, heat about 3-inches deep of oil to 350 F. Gently add dried pork rinds in batches as needed and deep-fry for about 2 to 4 minutes or until puffed up and begin to float.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove fried chicharon and drain on a wire rack. Season with salt to taste.
Notes
Nutrition Information
โThis website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.โ
dith gerolaga says
Will appreciate it very much if recipes are in grams and kilograms.
Lalaine Manalo says
You can change the measurements in the recipe card. There is a button there you can toggle between Imperial and Metric ๐
Bebeth Garcia says
Can I use pork skin with fat?
Lalaine Manalo says
Yes, you can ๐
sarah says
May I have a recipe for the spicy vinegar?
Josephine haslett says
Hi Lala I live in England, I missed eating langonisa but the place we live don't have pilipino store, can you show me how to make please.
Lalaine Manalo says
Hello, Josephine. I have skinless and regular longganisa recipes on the site. Please use the search function on the site or click on the recipe index tab on my navigation bar to find these recipes and other yummy ones to try. Happy cooking!
Maileen Chico says
I made them and oven dried them , first ones i cooked puffed and stayed good, few days later i cook them again it puffed
Up well but shrinked as soon as
I remove from oil so theyโre not as crunchy like the first ones
I put the oven dried skin in a glass
Lock n lock container
Any suggestions
Arnel says
Hi mam..paano po ba gumawa ng macaroni chicharon...
Lalaine Manalo says
Wala pa po akong recipe for it, but working on it ๐
Tinne says
Where do you store left overs ( the baked pork rinds and the fried ones) and how long will it expire?
Lalaine Manalo says
You can store them in an airtight container or resealable bag (ziplock) ๐
Sam says
Hereโs my take on this chicharon. I live here in Florida so I sun dry it.
Slice pork skin 1 to 1 1/2 squares. Season with salt.
Sun Dry for 4 to 6 hours. I use a screen to keep insects out.
Boil in cooking oil (that means just low temp. Just enough to have little bubbles). I said cooking oil not water... this is a long process too, it will take at least between 1 and 2 hours. When the pork skin turns dark brown with a little bit of blisters then itโs done.
Let it cool to room temperature. Then fry it by batch with hot oil. Done
Lalaine Manalo says
Thank you for sharing your method, Sam! I live in Texas so we do get nice tropical weather perfect for sun-drying. Just need to find those screens to cover them up from insects ๐
Jhingsan says
The oven hack is ftw!! Since I thought of maximizing the oven space for 2-3 hrs of drying the rinds in the oven, i have doubled the recipe ๐ . Question now is, how do I store the oven dried rinds? Thanks for this recipe!
Lalaine Manalo says
I store mine in a resealable bag ๐
Happy says
Where do you buy the pork skin ?
Lalaine says
Hello, Happy,
I bought the skins at HMart, it's a Korean grocery store chain. They have stores in California but I got mine in their Austin, Texas branch. If you can't find the skins, you can also pork belly and just adjust cook time. ๐
D Masuda says
Is nutrition info per serving? If yes, what is serving size?
Love you note "low carb" but I must limit my cholesterol and unfortunately love chicharon.
Lalaine says
The serving size is about 1 ounce. I started with 2 pounds pork skins but by the time they dry out and render their fat, they shrunk in size and volume. Yes, these are definitely high in cholesterol, but moderation is the key ๐