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Yucatan's pork belly chicharron, slow-rendered in lard until the meat surrenders and the skin cracks under the knife, folded into warm tortillas with xnipec and bright pink pickled onion.
Castacan is Yucateco. Not Mexican-generic. Yucateco. The Peninsula has its own grammar, recado, sour orange, banana leaf, pib, habanero, and castacan sits squarely inside it. You eat it at the cantinas in Merida on a Saturday afternoon, folded into a hand-pressed corn tortilla with pickled red onion and a spoonful of xnipec that makes you sweat at the temples. That is the dish.
The technique is pork belly slow-cooked in its own lard until the meat is tender, then crisped under high heat so the skin shatters when you cut it. This is not bacon. This is not American chicharron. This is the Peninsula's confit, and it carries the marks of Yucatan everywhere: the naranja agria in the seasoning, the oregano yucateco, the habanero in the salsa, the cebolla morada turned magenta by the sour orange. If you substitute regular orange and skip the sour, you have made something. You have not made castacan.
My first castacan was at a small cantina off Calle 47 in Merida, served on a piece of butcher paper with a stack of tortillas and a clay bowl of xnipec. The senora at the comal pressed the tortillas one at a time and would not let me leave until I had eaten at least three tacos. She told me that her father, who taught her, used to say the dog's nose tells you when the xnipec is right. That is where the name comes from. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Castacan belongs to the broader Yucatecan tradition of pork preparations developed after the Spanish introduction of pigs in the 16th century, grafted onto a Mayan culinary foundation that had cooked native game in underground pibes for centuries. The naranja agria used in its seasoning was brought by the Spanish from Seville and adapted into the regional cooking so thoroughly that it became the defining acid of the Peninsula, displacing lime in most traditional recipes. The xnipec salsa that accompanies castacan takes its name from the Maya words for dog (pek) and nose (ni), a reference to the way the habanero's heat makes the eater's nose run, and the use of habanero distinguishes Yucatecan salsa traditions from the chile cultures of central and southern Mexico.
Quantity
3 pounds
cut into 2-inch by 4-inch slabs
Quantity
2 pounds
Quantity
1
halved crosswise
Quantity
4
Quantity
1 medium
halved
Quantity
2
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1 tablespoon, plus more for finishing
Quantity
1/2 cup
or 1/4 cup orange juice mixed with 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
preferably oregano yucateco
Quantity
1 large
sliced into thin half-moons, for pickling
Quantity
1 cup
or equal parts orange and lime juice
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
4
finely diced, for xnipec
Quantity
1
finely diced, for xnipec
Quantity
2
stemmed and finely minced, for xnipec
Quantity
1/4 cup
chopped, for xnipec
Quantity
1/4 cup
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
for serving
warmed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| pork belly with skin oncut into 2-inch by 4-inch slabs | 3 pounds |
| pork lard (manteca de cerdo) | 2 pounds |
| head of garlichalved crosswise | 1 |
| garlic cloves | 4 |
| white onionhalved | 1 medium |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| black peppercorns | 1 tablespoon |
| kosher salt | 1 tablespoon, plus more for finishing |
| fresh naranja agria juiceor 1/4 cup orange juice mixed with 1/4 cup fresh lime juice | 1/2 cup |
| dried Mexican oreganopreferably oregano yucateco | 1 tablespoon |
| red onionsliced into thin half-moons, for pickling | 1 large |
| fresh naranja agria juice (for pickling)or equal parts orange and lime juice | 1 cup |
| kosher salt (for pickling) | 1 teaspoon |
| dried oregano yucateco (for pickling) | 1 teaspoon |
| ripe Roma tomatoesfinely diced, for xnipec | 4 |
| small white onionfinely diced, for xnipec | 1 |
| chile habanerostemmed and finely minced, for xnipec | 2 |
| fresh cilantrochopped, for xnipec | 1/4 cup |
| fresh naranja agria juice (for xnipec) | 1/4 cup |
| kosher salt (for xnipec) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)warmed | for serving |
Place the sliced red onion in a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over it, count to thirty, then drain. This takes the raw bite out without cooking the onion. Return it to the bowl and add the cup of naranja agria juice, the teaspoon of salt, and the teaspoon of oregano yucateco. Press the onions down so the liquid covers them. Let them sit for at least one hour. They will turn bright magenta. This is the cebolla morada encurtida that goes on everything in the Peninsula.
Pat the pork belly slabs dry. Rub them with the tablespoon of salt and the half cup of naranja agria juice. Smash the four extra garlic cloves with the side of a knife and rub them into the meat. Let the belly sit on a rack for at least 30 minutes, uncovered, in the refrigerator. The skin needs to dry. Wet skin will not crackle. This is the step most cooks skip and then wonder why their castacan is leathery.
In a wide heavy cazuela or Dutch oven, melt the lard over medium-low heat. You want enough fat to come halfway up the pork belly once it goes in. Lay the slabs in skin side up, then add the halved onion, halved garlic head, bay leaves, peppercorns, and oregano. The lard should bubble lazily around the meat, not aggressively. La manteca es el sabor. Cook uncovered for one hour and forty-five minutes, turning the slabs once at the halfway point.
While the pork cooks, make the xnipec. The name means dog's nose in Maya because the heat from the habanero should make the dog's nose run. Combine the diced tomato, finely diced white onion, minced habanero, chopped cilantro, naranja agria juice, and salt in a glass bowl. Stir and let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Use gloves when you handle the habanero. Two habaneros for an honest Yucatecan version. One for guests who do not know what they are getting into.
After an hour and forty-five minutes, the meat should be tender enough to pierce easily with a knife but still holding its shape. Lift the slabs out with a slotted spatula and drain on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Pat the skin dry. Heat the oven to 450F. Arrange the slabs skin side up on a fresh rack over a sheet pan and roast for 20 to 30 minutes, until the skin blisters and crackles. Listen for the snap. That sound is castacan ready.
Let the castacan rest for five minutes. Chop the slabs into rough bite-sized pieces, skin and all, on a wooden board. The skin should shatter under the knife. Pile the pieces on a warm platter and sprinkle with finishing salt. Serve with warm corn tortillas, the pickled red onion, and a bowl of xnipec set in the center of the table. Each person folds their own taco. Asi se hace y punto.
1 serving (about 250g)
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