Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
I have been reviewing regional recipes for tortas - the Mexican sandwich - and one that got my attention is from Guanajuato, specifically the city of León, called La Guacamaya, which is the Spanish name for macaws (Ara macao), a type of birds known for their colourful plumage and loud noises ... click on title for more
In Mexican cuisine, cueritos are fresh pieces of pork skin, which have been separated from the meat and fat, and may be either fried with other parts of the pork (carnitas), or as in this recipe, boiled and pickled in vinegar, often mixed with pickled jalapeños and carrots (escabeche.) As a bonus, although it might seem impossible to conceive this dish without pork rind, the flavour of cooked fresh pork rinds is mild, and its texture, chewy, so it was not very hard to think of konjac as a vegan substitute with similar characteristics ... click on title for more
In Mexico, it is common to have fried pork rinds just crumbled into a warm corn tortilla, topped with any salsa and enjoyed as a taco; snack size pieces are also served as chips with a bowl of salsa on the side. When there are leftovers from a party or family gathering, it is very convenient to cook them in sauce (sometimes leftover from the party as well), but as a guisado (stewed dish), this Mexican classic is prepared as a staple for any taco bar or burrito line-up … click on title for more
My Slice of Mexico 