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) or scratchings (UK); these are served in small piece ...

) from Mexican cuisine,

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

and

Spanish cuisine Spanish cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from Spain. Olive oil (of which Spain is the world's largest producer) is heavily used in Spanish cuisine. It forms the base of many vegetable sauces (known in Spanish as ''sofrit ...

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

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

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

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...

Cueritos: Pickled Pork Rinds from Tortas Paquime] by Erica O'Neil Wed., Apr. 13 2011 ''Phoenix New Times'' (''cueritos de 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 Central and Latin America. It is a solid form of sucrose derived from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice. Panela is known by other na ...

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 fragrance in consumer products, ...

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

chile de árbol The Chile de árbol (Spanish for ''tree chili'' 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 Scovill ...

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

cemita The ''cemita'' is a torta 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 covered ...

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 in Mexico City, street vendors and at small traditional markets in Mexico. Street foods include tacos, tamales, gorditas, quesadillas, Empalme ( ...

) known as "

tostilocos Tostilocos (also Dorilocos) are a popular Mexican antojito (street food) that consists of Tostitos tortilla chips topped with cueritos (pickled pork rinds), cucumber, jícama, lime juice, Valentina hot sauce, chamoy, Tajín chili powder, sal ...

" are made by slicing

nacho Nachos are a Mexican culinary dish consisting of fried tortilla chips or ''totopos'' covered with melted cheese or cheese sauce, as well as a variety of other toppings and garnishes, often including meats (such as ground beef or grilled chicken ...

-flavored tostito chips vertically and topping them with cucumber, cueritos, lime juice,

Valentina hot sauce Valentina is a brand of "pourable" hot sauce manufactured by Salsa Tamazula, a company based in Guadalajara, Mexico. The sauce, like the parent company's Tamazula hot sauce, is made with puya chilis from Jalisco state, similar to the Guajillo c ...

, 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 Japanese-style peanuts, also known as Japanese peanuts or cracker nuts, are a type of snack food made from peanuts that are coated in a wheat flour dough and then fried or deep-fried. They come in a variety of different flavours. This type of sn ...

" (peanuts encased in a crunchy brown flour shell). In

Acatlán, Hidalgo Acatlán is a town and municipality located in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, about 10 km northwest of the city of Tulancingo and 147 km from Mexico City. The main landmark is the San Miguel monastery which was built in the 16th century. It i ...

the feast in honor of the

Archangel Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

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

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

sauce and varieties of

pulque Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, 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, a rather viscous c ...

. Pickling differentiates cueritos from

chicharrón (, , plural ; pt, torresmo ; fil, chicharon; ch, chachalon) 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 sauce, or as finger-food snacks, ar ...

, 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 food 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 fillin ...

. 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.

Encurtido Encurtido is a pickled appetizer, side dish and condiment in the Mesoamerican region. It consists of various vegetables, such as onion, peppers such as jalapeño, carrot and beets, among others, pickled in vinegar brine and typically prepared so ...

s are pickled vegetables, peanuts and potatoes.http://www.lacocinadeleslie.com/2009/10/encurtidos.html October 22, 2009 La Cocina de Leslie Other subtleties of the varieties of epidermis and pig fat have also been noted.Essence of Chicharron
Mexico Bob

References

{{Mexican cuisine Mexican cuisine Pork dishes Spanish cuisine Venezuelan cuisine

Types of cuerito

See also

References