Arrollado Huaso is the Chilean rolled pork — strips of pork shoulder, pork fat, and skin rolled tightly in a pork skin 'cuero,' tied with string, and slow-boiled for hours, then sliced and served cold with pebre. It is the charcuterie of the Chilean huaso (cowboy), the centerpiece of rural asados and the most traditional Chilean cured meat.
Arrollado Huaso (literally 'huaso's roll' — the huaso is the Chilean cowboy) is the most traditional Chilean charcuterie. Pork shoulder, strips of pork fat, and seasonings (garlic, oregano, cumin, paprika) are rolled tightly inside a sheet of pork skin (cuero), tied with string, and slow-boiled for 2-3 hours until tender. After cooling, it is sliced into rounds that show the spiral of meat and fat inside the skin. It is served cold, with pebre (Chilean salsa, already in this database), as part of an asado or as a sandwich filling. The technique (rolling in pork skin) is distinctively Chilean.
A round slice of cold, firm rolled pork — the outer skin slightly gelatinous, the inside a spiral of pink pork and white fat, seasoned with garlic and cumin. Dip it in pebre; the sharp salsa cuts the richness. It is the most traditional Chilean cold cut, the taste of a rural asado.
The pork skin (cuero) is the defining element — it holds the roll together and, during the long boil, releases gelatin that sets the roll firm when cooled. The filling (pork shoulder, fat, seasonings) must be packed tight (loose packing means the roll falls apart when sliced). The boiling must be gentle (a hard boil makes the meat tough). The roll is weighted while cooling (to compress it).
Variations
Some add ají (chili); some smoke it after boiling; some serve it warm; the spice blend varies by region.
On the Palate
Where Arrollado Huaso sits in the Chilean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
8 steps · 1 hour 30 min active + 2 hours 30 min waiting
- 110 min
Take a large sheet of pork skin (cuero); scrape clean.
- 25 min
Cut 1 kg pork shoulder into strips; cut 200 g pork fat into strips.
- 35 min
Season the meat with 6 crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tbsp paprika, and salt.
- 45 min
Lay the skin flat; layer the meat and fat on it.
- 55 min
Roll tightly; tie securely with kitchen string at 2-cm intervals.
Watch outRoll and tie it tightly at short intervals — a loose roll falls apart the moment you slice it cold.
- 6120 min
Simmer in salted water 2 hours until tender.
Watch outKeep the water at a bare, gentle simmer for the whole two hours — a hard boil toughens the meat and can burst the roll.
- 7720 min
Remove; weight it down; refrigerate overnight.
Watch outWeight it down as it chills — the pressure and the setting gelatin are what let it slice into clean firm rounds.
- 82 min
Slice into rounds; serve cold with pebre.
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