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Chicharrones (Pork Cracklin’s)

A plate of pork cracklings being served with lime and beer.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano

The definition of chicharrón, or torresmo in Portuguese, expands and contracts as you move around Latin America. It’s made almost everywhere there are pigs, and at its basic understanding it signifies fried pork. In some countries that signifies only fried pork skin, while in others—Brazil, Colombia, and Peru—it might also mean fried chunks of pork, usually with the skin and fat attached. In some places, like Bolivia, it’s pork ribs, cooked in their own fat.

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