Don't Fear the Chicharrones

While the pupusa may be El Salvador’s great contribution to world cuisine, I’ve recently become enamored of another Salvadoran specialty that is too often ignored by non-Salvadorans: yuca con chicharrones.

In the plainest language, yuca con chicharrones is comprised of fried pork pieces served with fried yuca and garnished with pickled cabbage and hot sauce. Perhaps part of the reason for this dish’s relative obscurity is the fact that the word “chicharrones” is sometimes translated into Salvadoran menu English as “pork crackling” or “pork rinds.” Now I’m not sure what part of the pig the chicharrones in this dish come from, but these are definitely not pork rinds. Those of you who’ve braved my post on mofongo know that I speak from experience. Rather, these chicharrones are fried, nearly blackened pieces of pork, that are salty, tough and sinewy, with the barest hint of juiciness.

My introduction to yuca con chicharrones occurred at Esmerelda Restaurant in Alexandria. Esmerelda sits on a corner that is flanked by high-end Bauhaus style condos on one side and housing projects on the other side. The ambience inside is like a Salvadoran pool hall, and though the two women working up front were perfectly welcoming, its overall diviness was offputting.

Nevertheless, their rendition of yuca con chicharrones was decent enough to kindle my interest in trying it elsewhere. For some reason, this dish is always listed among the “antojitos”, or appetizers section, of the menus at many of the Salvadoran places that we’ve been to. But even if it’s priced like an appetizer, it’s usually the size of an extremely generous entree. Perhaps it’s meant to be shared, thus spreading its artery hardening properties among several people.

Yuca con chicharrones is not an appetizing dish to look at. In fact, it’s downright intimidating to be faced with all of that fried food, especially those seemingly mysterious “fried pork pieces.”

At Esmerelda, the fried pork pieces were so dry, tough, and sinewy that they were practically jerky-like. Fortunately, the soft, starchy flesh of the fried yuca, which is slightly sweeter than a regular potato, had enough moisture and sweetness to make a suitable pairing with the meat. And the deep fried crisp of the yuca rendered its skin into a high relief series of ridges and valleys. I added additional moisture with judicious applications of the pickled cabbage slaw and hot sauce.

Abi’s Azteca Grill, located in the Huntington section of Alexandria, offers a less distinguished version of yuca con chicharrones. Although the pork was a bit more succulent than the dry pieces at Esmerelda, the yuca was barely crispy, each wan piece unable to stand up to the fried pork without a generous helping of pickled cabbage and hot sauce.

The D.C. area has a sizeable population of Salvadorans, so I’m sure the holy grail of yuca con chicharrones is out there somewhere- probably in a narrow storefront in some decrepit suburban strip mall. I intend to find it.

While neither Esmerelda nor Abi’s is particulary worth seeking out, they can be found at the following addresses:

Esmerelda Restaurant
728 N. Henry St.
Alexandria, VA

Abi’s Azteca Grill
5902-A N. Kings Highway
Alexandria, VA
(703) 317-0548

—AC