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You are here: Home » Recipes » Pork

Chicharrones en Salsa Roja

Published: Aug 30, 2018 · Updated: Aug 14, 2019 by Mely Martínez

JUMP TO RECIPE

Easy and tasty  Chicharrones in Red Guajillo Salsa with Nopales-Pork Cracklings in Guajillo sauce with Nopales. You will love the taste!

Chicharrones in Red Guajillo Salsa & Nopales

Chicharrones in red guajillo salsa pork cracklings. Tasty chicharrones with nopales in a guajillo sauce. Chicharrones in red salsa.

Pork crackling or pork rinds are known as chicharrones in Mexico; we cook them in many different ways. These deep-fried pork skins need to be softened first to be able to enjoy in a dish like this Pork Crackling in Guajillo Sauce and Nopales.

Chicharrones in red guajillo salsa pork cracklings. Tasty chicharrones with nopales in a guajillo sauce. Chicharrones in red salsa.

The reason behind the idea of first softening the pork chicharrones in water is to avoid a dry salsa. When you cook the pork crackling with a salsa you reconstitute the chicharrones to bring it back to its original soft texture.

Chicharrones in Red Guajillo Salsa you can make it with or without the Nopales

When making deep fry pork crackling cooks air dry, or oven dry the pork skins to help in the process of creating the crispy, crunchy crust texture of the chicharrones when they fry them. However, if you want to cook those crispy pork skins in salsa, you will need to first add water to them until they are soft, if you skip that step you will keep adding water to the salsa and the results is a flavorless sauce.

Several weeks ago I posted this recipe using Chicharrones in red Guajillo Salsa with nopales on my Instagram stories, several people made it the same day and sent me pictures of their dishes. I hope you try the recipe and like it as much as our followers did and as we do at home.

For other recipes using pork cracklings check our recipe for Chicharrones in Salsa Verde, or if you want to learn how to make your own deep fried pork skins.

How to make Chicharrones en Salsa Roja

JUMP TO SEE INGREDIENTS & INSTRUCTIONS

DIRECTIONS:

Chicharrones in red guajillo salsa pork cracklings

Pictures were taken with my phone for Instagram Stories.

  • Place chicharrones in a medium-size frying pan with one cup of water. Turn heat to low and allow to slowly simmer, and softening the pork skins-chicharrones. This way the chicharrones won’t absorb the liquid from the guajillo sauce.-
  • Meanwhile, place the peppers in a bowl or saucepan and cover with hot water to soften for 20 to 25 minutes.
    The pork cracklings will keep softening, if you see that they need more water, add warm water, just enough to keep softening them.
  • Once the peppers are soft, drain and place into the blender with the garlic clove, the onion slices and one cup of water. Process until you have a sauce with a smooth texture.
  • Pour the sauce over the already softened pork crackling-chicharrones. Depending on your blender brand you will need to use a strainer to pour the sauce. Keep cooking for 10 minutes. After this time the salsa has reduced a little. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and oregano.
  • Finally, stir in the cooked nopales; make sure they are well-drained. And simmer for five more minutes.
Chicharron red guajiloo salsa pork cracklings. Tasty chicharrones with nopales in a guajillo sauce. Chicharrones in red salsa.

Serve your Chicharrones in Red Guajillo Salsa with warm tortillas.

By the way, you can also make this Chicharrones in Red Guajillo Salsa recipe without the Nopales, or use Pasilla Peppers instead of Guajillo. It is delicious as well with the smoky flavor of Pasilla peppers. You can buy pork cracklings-chicharrones at Latin Stores or Latin Markets that have a butcher section on the back of the store.

You can store them for several days in your fridge or a longer period if you place them in a freezer bag and store in your freezer. To reheat the pork crackling, place the frozen chicharrones in a baking sheet in a 350F-preheated oven and heat for about 10-15 minutes until desired crispiness.

📖 Recipe

Chicharron en salsa roja pork cracklings

Chicharrones in Red Guajillo Salsa

Mely Martínez
Easy and tasty  Chicharrones en Salsa de guajillo con Nopales-Pork Cracklings in Guajillo sauce with Nopales. You will love the taste!
5 from 7 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Total Time 40 minutes mins
Course Pork
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 4
Calories 127 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 3 oz Pork Cracklings (Chicharrones) (above 3 cups)
  • 3 pepper guajillo cleaned, deveined and seed removed
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 slices white onion
  • 1.5 cup Nopales cooked & diced
  • ½ teaspoon Mexican Oregano
  • Salt & pepper

Instructions
 

  • Place chicharrones in a medium-size frying pan with one cup of water. Turn heat to low and allow to slowly simmer, and softening the pork skins-chicharrones. This way the chicharrones won’t absorb the liquid from the guajillo sauce.
  •  Meanwhile, place the peppers in a bowl or saucepan and cover with hot water to soften for 20 to 25 minutes.
    The pork cracklings will keep softening, if you see that they need more water, add warm water, just enough to keep softening them.
  • Once the peppers are soft, drain and place into the blender with the garlic clove, the onion slices and one cup of water. Process until you have a sauce with a smooth texture.
  • Pour the sauce over the already softened pork crackling-chicharrones. Depending on your blender brand you will need to use a strainer to pour the sauce. Keep cooking for 10 minutes. After this time the salsa has reduced a little. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, and oregano.
  • Finally, stir in the cooked nopales; make sure they are well drained. And simmer for five more minutes.

Notes

You can learn how to clean and precook Nopales in the following link: How to cook Nopales

Nutrition

Calories: 127kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 13gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 398mgPotassium: 107mgFiber: 1gVitamin A: 345IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 0.5mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Reader Interactions

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  1. morena

    January 14, 2023 at 8:01 am

    5 stars
    I am not a cook but and this recipe was so easy to make and tasted so good

    Reply
  2. RoxAnne

    May 20, 2022 at 3:34 am

    When you say you can buy the cracklings at the butcher section of Latin stores, are they raw, as in pork fat, or are they precooked as in pork rinds in a bag?

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      May 20, 2022 at 9:20 am

      Hello RoxAnne,
      They are sold cooked like pork rinds.

      Reply
  3. Marian

    September 10, 2021 at 8:46 pm

    I’m excited to try this recipe this weekend. It brings back memories of when I was a kid and this was my dads favorite thing to make. He used to make it for breakfast and out over easy eggs on too and serve with tortillas

    Reply
  4. rose

    July 02, 2021 at 3:14 pm

    Are the guajilla peppers dried?

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      July 02, 2021 at 6:31 pm

      Hello Rose,
      Yes, the Guajillo peppers are dried.

      Reply
  5. Peggy Lynch

    May 24, 2021 at 8:02 am

    Ms. Mely: What kind of "chicharrones do you use. The kind you buy alongside the cheetoes, fritos, etc."

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      May 24, 2021 at 11:04 am

      Hello Peggy,
      the ones you buy at the butcher section of a Latin Store.
      You can try using the ones sold at the store, just make sure they are pork rinds. Nowadays they sell some made out of flour.

      Reply
  6. Ben Haney

    May 12, 2021 at 10:32 am

    Where do I buy the cracklings? Are they the ones in a bad at Walmart?

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      May 12, 2021 at 4:39 pm

      Hello Ben,
      Usually, they are sold at Lain Stores. I think you can use the ones sold at Walmart.

      Reply
  7. Monica Castleberry

    January 01, 2021 at 12:41 pm

    Omg amazing thank you for sharing your recipe.

    Reply
  8. adelita engles

    October 26, 2020 at 11:03 am

    how spicy is this?

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      October 26, 2020 at 11:30 am

      Hello Adelita,
      Guajillo peppers are used in this recipe, and these peppers are very mild. If you want something spicy, just add 6 - 8 arbol peppers.

      Reply
    • Jen Pineda

      January 07, 2023 at 12:00 am

      Delish! We made this tonight ..thank you for la receta. Made it exactly to try something different and glad we did. Missing a little spice though. Options are endless, arboles, Serrano's, chili powder....although I am debating on just using the entire jar of nopales and using the heat from the chili adentro.

      Reply
  9. Clh

    July 19, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    How many oz of chicharrones are you using?

    Reply
    • mmartinez

      July 19, 2019 at 5:11 pm

      Hello Clh,

      If you see the recipe box, it says 3 oz of chicharrones. Enjoy!

      Reply

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About me

Hi, I'm Mely Martinez, a former Mexican school teacher, home cook, and food blogger. I moved to the United States about ten years ago, after living in Mexico my whole life. Now I love to share home-style recipes for authentic Mexican food.
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