Cuerito is pig skin (

pork rind Pork rind is the culinary term for the skin of a pig. It can be used in many different ways. It can be rendered, fried in fat, baked, or roasted to produce a kind of pork cracklings (US), crackling (UK), or scratchings (UK); these are ...

) from

Mexican cuisine Mexican cuisine consists of the cuisines and associated traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican Cuisine, Mesoamerican cuisine. Mexican cuisine's ingredients and methods arise from the area's first agr ...

Venezuelan cuisine Venezuelan cuisine is influenced by its EuropeanKohnstamm, Thomas; Kohn, Beth"Venezuela."Lonely Planet. Accessed October 2011. (Italy, Italian, Spain, Spanish, Portugal, Portuguese, and France, French), West African, and indigenous traditions. Ve ...

and

Spanish cuisine Spanish cuisine () consists of the traditions and practices of Spanish cooking. It features considerable regional diversity, with significant differences among the traditions of each of Spain's regional cuisines. Olive oil (of which Spain is ...

. ''Cuero'' is the Spanish-language word for skin,

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

or hide, so ''cueritos'' means "little skins". They are usually pickled in

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

Cueritos: Pickled Pork Rinds from Tortas Paquime] by Erica O'Neil Wed., Apr. 13 2011 ''Phoenix New Times'' (''cueritos en vinagre'') and can be made with a spicy sauce. The vinegar can be seasoned with pineapple, dulce macho (

piloncillo Panela () or rapadura (Portuguese pronunciation: ) is an unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Latin America. It is a solid form of sucrose derived from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. Panela is known by other names in Lati ...

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or Aroma compound, fragrance in fin ...

peppercorn Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter (f ...

chile de árbol The chile de árbol () is a small and potent Mexican chili pepper also known as bird's beak chile and rat's tail chile. These chilis are about long, and in diameter. Their heat index is between 15,000 and 30,000 Scoville units. The peppers sta ...

and oregano. There are also family recipes. Cueritos are used to make a type of

cemita The ''cemita'' is a sandwich originally from Puebla, Mexico. Also known as ''cemita poblana'', it derives from the city (and region) of Puebla. The word refers to the sandwich as well as to the roll it is typically served on, a bread roll covere ...

and can be used in other dishes like tostadas. Cueritos are sometimes served in a glass with strips of the pickled pork rind alongside a slaw of cabbage, cucumber, lime, and chile sauce. The Mexican street food (

antojito Mexican street food, called ''antojitos'' (literally "little cravings"), is prepared by street vendors and at small traditional markets in Mexico. Street foods include tacos, tamales, gorditas, quesadillas, empalmes, tostadas, chalupa, elot ...

) known as " tostilocos" are made by slicing nacho-flavored

tostito Tostitos is a Frito-Lay brand of tortilla chips and accompanying dips, especially salsa and queso. Varieties There are many varieties of Tostitos chips: * Tostitos ''Gold'' (and bite size ''Gold'') - a thicker and larger version of the ori ...

chips vertically and topping them with cucumber, cueritos, lime juice, Valentina hot sauce, chamoy, tajín (seasoning)

chili powder Chili powder (also spelled chile, chilli, or, alternatively, powdered chili) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (in which case it is also sometimes known as chili p ...

, salt and " Japanese peanuts" (peanuts encased in a crunchy brown flour shell). In

Acatlán, Hidalgo Acatlán is a town and municipalities of Mexico, municipality located in the states of Mexico, Mexican state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, about 10 km northwest of the city of Tulancingo and 147 km from Mexico City. The main landmark is the Sa ...

the feast in honor of the

Archangel Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second ...

is held from 20–29 September, with religious events, traditional dances and traditional foods such as cueritos made with

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

sauce and varieties of

pulque Pulque (; ), occasionally known as octli or agave wine, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, ...

. Pickling differentiates cueritos from

chicharrón (, plural ; ; ; ) is a dish generally consisting of fried pork belly or fried pork rinds. may also be made from chicken, mutton, or beef. Name , as a dish with sauces, or as finger-food snacks, are popular in Andalusia and Canarias in ...

, which is fried pork skin. In Spain the chicharrón is the rind with fat still attached and cuerito is a rind with no fat attached. In Mexico, chicharrón is the cuerito or pig skin fried to a crisp like cracklings in the southern states and cueritos is soft, deep fat fried pig skin, chopped and used for

tacos A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican dish consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of filli ...

. In Mexico, natural, uncured cueritos, usually the thick pig skin without the fat attached, are always combined with "macisa", solid or thick meat, in carnitas which is deep fat fried pig parts sold for tacos. The tacos are served with a choice of meats, chopped, in 1 or 2 soft corn tortillas, covered with chopped cilantro and onion, and the choice of a hot chilli sauce. They are a popular street food that can be found in public markets, most carnicerías, or meat stores, and many restaurants.

Types of cuerito

Cuerito Grueso is thick pigskin from the pig ears, face and feet. Cuerito Delgado is from the pig's body and is thinner. Either type can be pickled (cueritos en vinagre) which are a type of encurtido.http://www.lacocinadeleslie.com/2009/10/encurtidos.html October 22, 2009 La Cocina de Leslie

References

{{Mexican cuisine Mexican pork dishes Latin American pork dishes Spanish cuisine Venezuelan cuisine

Types of cuerito

See also

References