Chicharron Tacos
These chicharron tacos start with pork belly strips hung right over hot coals till the skin goes golden and crackly. Then it all gets chopped up hot and piled onto warm corn tortillas with fresh guacamole and a squeeze of lime. Crispy, rich, and honestly one of the easier cooks I’ve done in a while.
Author’s Notes
Way Easier Than They Look
These are very good and pretty easy to do. I bought I want to say about 2 pounds of pork belly strips, and it’s a very rewarding meal, super easy to execute. You get that tender rendered pork with the crispy skin, and that’s what makes chicharrones so good in the first place.
The guacamole, it brightens up the dish with some of that lime, it just makes it that much better next to all that rich pork.
For tortillas I really like yellow corn, it just has more of a deeper flavor. You can use white or even flour, but personal preference, yellow is the way to go for me. Very savory dish, and it can be served as an appetizer or you know, you can have it for lunch.
Miguel
What Are Chicharron Tacos?
Chicharrones are crispy pork, usually the skin and fat of the belly cooked till it crackles. In a lot of Mexican kitchens, tacos de chicharrón means store bought pork rinds simmered soft in salsa, and that version is delicious. Mine is the fresh kind. Whole pork belly strips, skin on, cooked over live fire till the skin shatters, then chopped straight into tacos. Same name, way different bite.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Notes |
|---|---|
| Pork belly strips, skin on | I used about 2 pounds, cut around an inch and a half thick. The skin is the whole point here, so make sure it’s still on. |
| Taco or pork seasoning | Whatever savory blend you like, as long as it has no sugar. Sweet rubs burn over this kind of heat. |
| Avocado oil and kosher salt | For the skin. Salt only up there. |
| Avocados, Roma tomatoes, cilantro, serranos, white onion, lime | The guacamole. Serranos bring real heat, so start with less if you’re not sure about your crowd. |
| Yellow corn tortillas | My pick. Deeper corn flavor than white. |
Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.
How I Made These Chicharron Tacos
Here’s what I did, start to finish. The card below has all the amounts and temps if you’re following along at the grill.
- I scored the meat side of each strip, cutting down toward the skin without going through it, then seasoned the meat side with my taco seasoning.
- The skin got a light coat of avocado oil and salt. Nothing else up there, sugar burns.
- I left them uncovered in the fridge overnight so the skin could dry out. You can skip this, I just think it’s worth doing for crispier skin.
- Next day I got the barrel cooker running hot and hung the strips on hooks right over the coals to cook vertically.
- While the pork hung there doing its thing, I made the guacamole. Everything in a bowl, mash it, taste it, fix the salt and lime.
- Once the skin was deep golden and crackly, I pulled the strips, let them rest a few minutes, and chopped everything into bite size pieces.
- Warm tortillas, a good spoon of guac on each one, a pile of chicharron on top, fresh lime over everything. That’s the taco.
If You Don’t Have a Barrel Cooker
You can make chicharron tacos on a regular grill or in the oven. The pork doesn’t care how it hangs, it cares about two things. Render the fat so the meat gets tender, and get that skin crispy. On a grill, run the strips over indirect heat and finish them hot. In the oven, roast them and crank the heat at the end. Chase the crispy skin and you’re there.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The guacamole is best fresh, so I make it while the pork cooks. Leftover chicharron keeps in the fridge in something airtight, and the move for reheating is a hot skillet so the skin and edges wake back up. The microwave will make it soft, and soft defeats the purpose.
Miguel’s Tips
- Score the meat side deep, but stop at the skin. The skin needs to stay in one piece to crisp right.
- Check your seasoning label for sugar before it goes anywhere near this cook.
- Warm the tortillas just till they’re soft and flexible. Too long and they turn stiff on you.
- Chop and serve while the skin’s still crackling. These don’t like to wait around.
Chicharron Tacos FAQ
Can I make chicharron tacos without a barrel cooker?
Yes. Cook the pork belly strips over indirect heat on a regular grill or roast them in the oven, then finish with high heat to crisp the skin. The equipment matters less than rendering the fat and getting the skin crackly.
What temperature should the pork belly reach?
Around 185 degrees F inside, with the skin deep golden and crispy. The higher temperature gives the fat time to render so the meat comes out tender instead of chewy.
Can I use store bought chicharrones instead?
You can, and the traditional tacos de chicharrón guisado are made exactly that way, simmered soft in salsa. It’s a different taco though. This recipe is built around fresh pork belly, so you get juicy meat under the crispy skin, and bagged pork rinds can’t give you that.
Related Recipes
If you like these, check out my other recipes: my Smoked and Fried Chicharrones with Guacamole is the snacking version of this same idea, the Smoked Pork Belly Tacos take the belly low and slow instead, Al Pastor Tacos bring more fire-cooked pork to taco night, and the Pork Belly Burnt Ends are what happens when pork belly meets barbecue sauce.
Crispy Chicharron Tacos with Barrel-Hung Pork Belly
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Score the meat side of each pork belly strip all the way down toward the skin, without cutting through the skin. Season the meat side generously with your taco or pork seasoning.
- Lightly coat the skin with avocado oil as a binder and season it with salt only. Keep sweet seasoning off the skin, since the high heat can burn it.
- Optional but recommended: refrigerate the seasoned pork belly uncovered overnight. The salt draws moisture out of the skin and gives you a better shot at crispy, crackly texture.
- Get your barrel cooker running between 350 and 400°F.
- Using sturdy cooking hooks, carefully hang the pork belly strips from the barrel so they cook vertically over the heat.
- Cook until the pork reaches approximately 185°F internal and the skin is deeply golden and crispy. Keep an eye on the skin as it cooks. You want it rendered and crackly, not burnt. Go by temperature and the look of the skin, not the clock.
- While the pork cooks, add the avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, serranos, onion, lime juice, and salt to a bowl. Mash and mix to your preferred consistency, then taste and adjust the salt and lime.
- Lightly brush the tortillas with oil and warm them on a hot griddle, skillet, or grill until heated through and pliable. Warm and flexible is the goal, not hard or crispy.
- Remove the pork belly from the barrel and rest it a few minutes, then cut it into small bite size pieces.
- Spread a generous spoonful of guacamole on each warm tortilla, top with the chopped crispy pork belly, and serve immediately with fresh lime squeezed over the top.
Notes
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