Chicharrón Paisa

Chicharrón is the pork belly of the bandeja paisa, the defining dish of the Paisa region (Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda). A slab of pork belly with the skin on is marinated with salt, garlic and bitter orange (naranja agria), dried uncovered in the refrigerator overnight to dehydrate the skin, then deep-fried in lard at high temperature. The dehydrated skin puffs instantly on contact with the hot fat, expanding into a golden, bubbly, shatteringly crisp crust, while the meat below stays tender and juicy. The contrast between the glass-like crackling skin and the soft, fatty meat beneath is the pleasure. Served as part of bandeja paisa or on its own with arepa and lime, chicharrón is one of the most iconic dishes of Colombian cuisine.

The skin shatters like glass with a sound that fills the room, giving way to tender, fatty, deeply savoury pork. Eaten with a squeeze of lime and a piece of arepa, the contrast of textures is the whole point.

The technique is overnight dehydration followed by high-temperature frying. The pork belly skin is scored in a crosshatch pattern, rubbed with salt, garlic and bitter orange, and left uncovered in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. The cold, dry air dehydrates the skin, removing moisture that would otherwise steam the skin rather than puff it. The belly is then deep-fried in lard at 180 to 200 degrees C. The dehydrated skin puffs instantly on contact with the hot fat, the trapped moisture in the skin's collagen turning to steam and expanding the skin into a crisp, bubbly crust. The meat is cooked by the hot fat simultaneously. The frying must be done carefully: the skin can splatter violently as it puffs. The result is a crackling, glass-like crust over tender meat.