Making the Pork Cracklings for Mofongo?

This is a hard one, mofongo is the mashed plantains, but the meat that goes with it is a pork cracklings. I want to make the chunks of pork that go with it. They are pieces of pork, but how are they made? They are placed on top of the mashed plantain.

By Pamela M.

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Holly
Silver Post Medal for All Time! 364 Posts

July 5, 20110 found this helpful

I haven't had Mofongo in absolutely ages, thanks for reminding me!
Mofongo (Plantains)

4 Plantains, Green
3 cloves Garlic, mashed
1 tbsp. Salt
1 quart Water
1 pint Vegetable oil for frying
1/3 lb. Salted Pork Rind (Fat Back) or ask us for Chicharrones

1. Mash garlic with salt to a paste. Add to Water and stir well to mix.
2. Score plantains skin deep along opposite sides and trim of tips 1/2 inch at each end. Under running water peel off skin (makes peeling easier). Cut peeled green plantains into pieces 1 inch thick and place in Garlic water to soak. Do not discard garlic water when plantain is removed later.

3. Wash, dry then dice Fat Back into 1/2 inch pieces. Fry in vegetable oil to a golden crisp and drain well on paper towel.
4. Take pieces of plantain drain well and fry in deep oil being careful not to splatter hot oil. Fry to a deep yellow color (do not brown) and drain off oil on paper towel. Flatten fried plantain on wax paper, rewet slightly mashed plantain in original reserved garlic water, shake off excess water and return to hot oil for 1.5 minutes drain off excess oil and place in deep bowl until all pieces have been processed.
5. Sprinkle crispy fried pork rinds over plantains and mash plantains together with pork rinds. (mixture may be moistened lightly with clear chicken broth to form into balls.
Serve hot with entree (Fried fish, chicken or pork chops or with soup or broth).
This was from a plantain internet site, goes back too many years to recall.

Jonnie Shambarger

July 5, 20110 found this helpful

You can buy pork cracklin's in the meat department of some grocery stores. If you don't see them ask the butcher to order some for you. Frying out the cracklins (pork skin with some of the fat still attached) is a large job, and one that is really messy, if you don't have the equipment to do it outside. This is experience speaking from my childhood when my parents slaughtered the hog and the processing of it to include the making of cracklin's.

There are pork skins available in the area with the chips but I don't think from having read some recipes for the morfungo that they are the same as the ones you would get from the meat department.

July 7, 20110 found this helpful

You can buy pork cracklings at any grocery stores or meat markets.

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