Ingredients
Pork
- 1 kgpork belly, in thick slabs
- 2 tbspcoarse salt
- 1 tspground black pepper
- 1 tspground cumin
- 4garlic cloves, crushed
- 500 mlwater
Sweet potato
- 2orange sweet potatoes
- oil, for frying
Salsa criolla
- 2red onions, sliced paper-thin
- juice of 3 limes
- 1chilli, sliced thin
- a handful of coriander, chopped
- 1 tspsalt
To build
- 4pan francés rolls, or crusty bread rolls
- ají amarillo paste or chilli sauce
- mayonnaise, if wanted
To serve
- coffee
- or emoliente
Directions
- Cut the pork belly into thick slabs. Rub them all over with the coarse salt, pepper, cumin and garlic. Cover them and refrigerate them overnight. Pat them dry the next day and scrape off the excess salt. Put the pork slabs in a wide heavy pan. Add the water, which should come about halfway up.
- Bring it to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook it gently for about an hour. The meat should be tender enough to give under a fork. Take the lid off after an hour. Let the water boil away completely. This takes another twenty minutes or so. Keep cooking in the rendered fat over a medium heat. Turn the pieces every few minutes.
- Fry them for fifteen to twenty minutes. They should turn deep golden and crisp on all surfaces. Lift them onto a rack and let them rest. Slice them thickly once they have rested for five minutes. Frying the sweet potato is done in the pork fat.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into thick rounds. Boil them for eight minutes until part cooked. Drain them and pat them fully dry. Fry them in the reserved pork fat for four minutes a side. They should be golden outside and soft inside. Slice the red onions as thinly as you possibly can. A mandoline gives the paper-thin slices this needs.
- Rinse the sliced onion in cold water. Squeeze it dry in a clean cloth. Rinsing takes out the harshness without losing the crunch. Toss it with the lime juice, chilli, coriander and salt. Let it stand for at least fifteen minutes. It should soften slightly but should keep its bite.
- Warm the rolls briefly in a hot oven. Spread ají amarillo paste or chilli sauce inside. Add mayonnaise as well if you want it. Lay the fried sweet potato rounds on the bottom half. Lay slices of chicharrón over the sweet potato. Pile the drained salsa criolla generously on top.
- Squeeze the onion out before it goes in. Wet salsa soaks straight through the roll. Press the sandwich closed firmly. Serving it is done immediately and hot. Wrap the bottom half in paper so it can be held. It does not keep and is built to order.
Technique
- Simmer the pork first and let the water boil away, so it finishes frying in its own fat.
- Fry the sweet potato in the rendered pork fat, which is what ties the sandwich together.
- Squeeze the salsa criolla dry before it goes in, or it soaks through the roll.
Substitutions
- Any crusty roll in place of pan francés.
- Chilli sauce in place of ají amarillo paste.
Variations
- With fried egg added to the roll.
- Made with pork loin, which is leaner but drier.
- With more chilli in the salsa criolla.
History
Lima’s Sunday breakfast sandwich, sold from morning stalls and eaten with coffee or a glass of emoliente.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pan con chicharrón?
Pan con chicharrón is a breakfast from Peru: roll filled with fried pork, sweet potato and salsa criolla. Lima’s Sunday breakfast sandwich, sold from morning stalls and eaten with coffee or a glass of emoliente.
How long does Pan con chicharrón take to make?
Pan con chicharrón takes 30 min plus overnight salting of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes 4 sandwiches. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Pan con chicharrón?
Yes, within limits. Any crusty roll in place of pan francés. Chilli sauce in place of ají amarillo paste.
What is the most important thing to get right in Pan con chicharrón?
Squeeze the salsa criolla dry before it goes in, or it soaks through the roll.
