Cuchifrito with Whole Lemon Salsa Verde

Cuchifrito or cochifritos, literally means fried pig, refers to foods in Spanish and Puerto Rican that are usually pork based and fried. In Spain, it means fried pork (usually suckling pig), but in Puerto Rico, it’s used for almost anything fried. They are commnely served with tropical juice or cold beer. Remove the excess liquid from pork belly after baking them. If you don’t get most of the moisture off the meat, it will cause the oil to pop and create a huge mess. I baked the pork belly the night before and let them dry overnight in the fridge. This will make them even more crispy. The salsa can be prepared a day ahead.

Cuchifrito with Whole Lemon Salsa Verde

adapted from Delicious

	Whole Lemon Salsa Verde
1.2 kg Pork belly without bones, cut into 3-4 cm chunks 4 Garlic cloves, peeled and minced 20 g Flat parsley, roughly chopped 75 ml White wine vinegar 100 ml Olive oil plus 1l for frying Black pepper	1 Small shallot, minced 1 1/2 tbsp White wine vinegar 1 tsp Sea salt 1 Organic lemon (preferably Meyer lemon) 3 tbsp Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 tbsp Capers, rinsed and roughly chopped 200 ml Extra-virgin olive oil Sea salt and freshly milled black pepper

Cut the pork belly into 3-4 cm chunks and put them in a large roasting pan. Add in minced garlic, roughly chopped parsley, olive oil, vinegar and a good grinding of black pepper. Mix well, then cover and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge.
The next day, remove pork belly from the fridge 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 170C/340F. Cover the roasting pan with foil and roast for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Drain the pork belly and place them on a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Use paper towels to remove any excess moisture on pork belly. Let pork belly cool for 30 minutes. Place it in the fridge, allowing them to dry overnight.
Make the salsa. Combine shallot, vinegar, and salt in a medium bowl and let stand 10 minutes to soften and lightly pickle shallot. Meanwhile, cut the lemon in half, remove seeds and thinly slice, then cut into very small triangles. Stir lemon, parsley, and capers into bowl with shallot mixture. Add oil and stir to combine. Set aside for 30 minutes while frying the pork belly.
Pour the oil for deep-frying into a deep pan over a medium-high heat and heat to 190C/375F. Fry pork belly in batches for 5-6 minutes until the pieces are really golden and crisp.
Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, then season with salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Once all the meat has been fried, serve with the salsa.

20 comments:

Tom 23/9/24 12:48: ...this looks yummy!
DEZMOND 23/9/24 13:21: Such a cute name cuchifrito LOL
eileeninmd 23/9/24 14:14: Looks delicious! Take care, have a great day and happy week ahead.
roentare 23/9/24 14:39: It looks very hearty
Brian's Home Blog 23/9/24 15:38: WOW! I want to eat at your place, everything always looks so good!
speedy70 23/9/24 15:55: Molto invitante e la salsa verde è perfetta!!!
Heidi 23/9/24 20:43: Your easy instructions make preparing the pork belly so easy... and I simply adore your amazing Lemon Salsa Verde recipe. So YUM!!
Cooking Julia 23/9/24 21:37: So crunchy and yummy!!
Balvinder 23/9/24 23:26: The title of the post seemed tempting but sad, I don't eat pork. However my daughter does. Will send this post link to her.
Cocoa and Lavender 24/9/24 00:26: It looks wonderful — and thanks for the hint about drying the pork (and cooking the night before). The crust on the pork looks mouthwatering!
citu 24/9/24 01:33: Gracias por la receta. Tomó nota. Te mando un beso.
Anne in the kitchen 24/9/24 05:07: What a timely recipe. I bought a pork belly a couple of weeks ago and froze it. This sounds so good.
Anonymous 24/9/24 05:51: This must have been delicious!
Tandy | Lavender and Lime https://tandysinclair.com
Margaret D 24/9/24 07:04: That looks and sounds delicious, Angie.
Julie 24/9/24 10:05: That looks wonderful,Angie ..yummy and flavourful!!
David M. Gascoigne, 24/9/24 11:46: The salsa verde sounds very tasty. My daughter visited recently and made a tomatillo salsa and it was really delicious.
David 24/9/24 20:23: Hi Angie, Cuchifrito...a new word, but living in the SE USA fried pork bellies are certainly not new to us. Love fried pork belly and your salsa would really kick it up a notch. Looks like a lot of work though. I'd devour a plate of these goodies...if someone made it for me. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Raymund | angsarap.net 25/9/24 00:57: I love how you’ve highlighted the contrast between the crispy pork belly and the vibrant, tangy salsa,its sounds absolutely mouthwatering!
tigerfish 25/9/24 01:17: It must be so crackling crispy . Kinda reminded me of Filipino dish Lechon kawali
The Velvet Runway 27/9/24 14:25: It looks yummy !
Julia x