Recipe · Sandwich · Lima and criolla cooking
Pan con chicharrón
Lima’s morning sandwich: pork belly simmered then browned in its own fat, fried sweet potato and salsa criolla in a crusty roll. Four sandwiches.
- Makes 4 sandwiches
- About 2 hours (estimate)
- Intermediate
A crusty roll, slices of golden pork, fried sweet potato and a tangy salsa criolla: pan con chicharrón is Lima’s morning sandwich. According to Wikipedia, it is sold in sangucherías and street stalls, and Peru devotes a national day to it, the second Sunday in September.
Chicharrón, simmered then browned
In Peru, chicharrón means, according to the dictionary of the Real Academia, pork with its fat, cut into pieces and fried in its own fat. The simplest home method is to simmer the belly in a little salted water: the meat cooks and becomes tender while the water evaporates, then it browns in the fat it has released. No deep-frying is needed.
The bread and the sweet potato
Lima’s pan francés is a small roll with a thin, crisp crust and a light crumb; a crusty white roll comes close. The sweet potato, precooked and then browned, adds a sweet note against the salty pork and the acidity of the salsa criolla.
Our version
The evaporation time depends on the width of the casserole and the amount of water. Keep an eye on the end of cooking: that is when the spattering happens.
Ingredients
Makes 4 sandwiches
Estimated preparation time
- Advance preparation
- The pork can be cooked the day before and browned in the morning
- Active time
- 30 minutes
- Cooking
- 1 hr 15 min to 1 hr 30 min for the pork, 20 minutes for the sweet potato
- Total
- About 2 hours
Techniques: Simmering, Frying.
The chicharrón
The sweet potato
The assembly
Tick off the ingredients as you go: the boxes are remembered on this device.
Useful equipment
- A wide heavy-based casserole
- A splatter guard or a lid
- A slotted spoon
- A cooking thermometer
Method
- Put the pork in the casserole in a single layer, with the salt, garlic and cumin. Cover with water, just to the level of the meat.
- Bring to the boil, then simmer uncovered over a medium-low heat for about 1 hour, turning the pieces from time to time: the meat becomes tender while the water evaporates.
- When there is almost no water left, the fat starts to fry and crackle: lower the heat, put on the splatter guard and stand back from the edge. Leave to brown for 15 to 20 minutes, turning the pieces with the slotted spoon, until they are brown and crisp on all sides.
- Check two things: the pork is cooked, at least 70 °C at the core, and it is tender, a fork should go in easily. Drain it on kitchen paper and cut it into 1 cm slices.
- While the pork is cooking, cook the whole sweet potatoes in water for 10 minutes, so that they stay firm. Peel them, cut them into 1 cm rounds and brown them in the frying pan in a little oil, or in the fat from the pork.
- Make the salsa criolla at the last moment, so that it stays crisp.
- Open the rolls, lay two or three rounds of sweet potato, the slices of chicharrón, then the salsa criolla. Serve straight away.
Signs of success
- The chicharrón is dark golden and crisp on the outside, melting on the inside; its fat has been rendered, with no soft white fat left.
- The sweet potato is tender in the middle and golden on the surface.
- The bread stays crisp: the salsa criolla is drained before assembling.
Precautions
- When the water finishes evaporating, the hot fat spatters: splatter guard, long sleeves, children at a distance. Never pour water into hot fat.
- Raw pork: in the fridge, below 5 °C.
Allergens identified
Present: gluten (bread).
Always check the labels of the products you buy (sauces, stocks, chilli pastes).
Variations and tips
- The Sunday “desayuno criollo”, according to Wikipedia: pan con chicharrón, tamal, fried black pudding (relleno) and coffee.
- With chilli in the salsa criolla, or a chilli sauce on the side.
Reasonable substitutions
- Pork shoulder instead of belly: leaner, it browns less well; add a spoonful of oil when browning.
- A baguette cut into sections: the crust is thicker than that of pan francés.
Storage
- Pork cooked the day before: in the fridge within one to two hours of cooking, to be eaten within 48 hours or frozen. Brown it in the morning until it is piping hot, to at least 70 °C.
Going further
Sources and dates
2 sources
Prices, opening hours and rules change: every piece of information cited links to its source, with the date it was consulted.
Figures and rules cited
- at least 70 °C at the core: Minimum core temperature for meat, poultry, fish and seafood (general Swiss guideline) (Switzerland) . A food safety guideline, not a culinary doneness criterion: some meats are served more cooked.
Official source: FSVO, Hygiène et aliments (food hygiene: four basic rules, in French) (new tab) · consulted on 3 October 2026 - in the fridge within one to two hours of cooking, to be eaten within 48 hours or frozen: Cooling and keeping cooked leftovers (United Kingdom) . The same source asks you to thaw food in the fridge and to eat thawed food within 24 hours.
Official source: GOV.UK (Food Standards Agency), cooling, freezing and defrosting food safely (18 December 2017) (new tab) , published on 18 December 2017 · consulted on 3 October 2026 - to at least 70 °C: Reheating a dish that is already cooked (Switzerland)
Official source: FSVO, Hygiène et aliments (food hygiene, in French) (new tab) · consulted on 3 October 2026 - in the fridge, below 5 °C: Storing meat, poultry, fish, seafood and leftovers (Switzerland) . The FSVO also asks you not to refreeze food that has been thawed.
Official source: FSVO, Hygiène et aliments (food hygiene, in French) (new tab) · consulted on 3 October 2026
Sources consulted
- Wikipedia (Spanish), Pan con chicharrón (breakfast, pan francés, desayuno criollo, national day) (new tab) (consulted on 3 October 2026)
- Real Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española: chicharrón (Peruvian meaning) (new tab) (consulted on 3 October 2026)
How we choose and date our information: our method. Has something changed? Let us know.