Carne Frita y Cebollas (Fried Pork and Onions)

Deep fried pork chunks with yellow onions. Man, oh man. I rarely eat this dish unless I'm really craving it and honestly, the last time I had it was when I was back home in Puerto Rico and eating it out of a huge pilón piled high with mofongo. It's so very good and so simple to make. I decided to try it out to celebrate being done with Spring semester finals and I'm glad I did. It was quick, delicious, and reminded me of home.

I'll also be sharing my homemade sazón seasoning blend recipe along with how to make the carne frita con cebollas below. Homemade sazón is something that I've been using lately as a way to manage sodium intake at home along with limiting the amount of MSG in the food I cook. And to those who cringe at the mere thought of MSG, it's in practically everything you already eat, so relax! MSG is safe to consume in moderation and is a naturally occurring amino acid in food. As long as you aren't drowning your food in it, which you shouldn't be doing with any kind of salt anyway, you'll be fine. I'm just trying my hand at recreating seasoning blends and food items that I grew up on and I love how it turned out. So here we go!

Homemade Sazón Seasoning Blend

Yield: ~half a cup, shakable in a small mason jar

2 tbsp kosher salt

2 tbsp coarse ground black pepper

2 tbsp granulated garlic

1 tbsp ground annatto (paprika can be substituted if you can’t find it)

1 tbsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

In a small mason jar or container with a lid, blend together all of the spices. Use this seasoning blend to season meats, soups, rice dishes, stews, and sauces. It will store indefinitely as long as it stays in a dry, cool space. You can find an updated recipe for this in my Boricua Kitchen Staples e-book.

Carne Frita y Cebollas (Fried Pork Chunks and Onions)

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 3

Light frying oil, like canola or peanut oil

1 lb pork stew meat, cut into even sized chunks

3 tbsp Homemade Sazón blend (recipe listed above)

2 small yellow onions, cut into rings

In a large bowl, season the pork chunks with the Homemade Sazón seasoning blend and set aside. Next, in a large caldero, or dutch oven pot, add enough frying oil that will cover the meat to deep fry in about two or three batches. Then over medium heat, heat the oil up. To test if the oil is ready, take a piece of the pork and put a little corner in the oil to see if it bubbles. Another fun trick is to use the end of a wooden spoon and stick it in the center of the pot. If bubbles form around the spoon, the oil is hot enough for frying.

Depending on the size of the pot, fry the meat in small batches for about 10-15 minutes or until they're a dark, golden color as photographed above. I prefer to fry the meat in small batches to avoid overcrowding the pot along with allowing enough surface area to fry in the oil. You want crispy pieces of meat, not soggy ones!

Set aside the fried pork chunks on a paper towel lined plate to soak up any excess oil. Once the meat is all cooked, add the onions to the same oil and fry them until they get crispy edges and begin to get translucent, about 4-5 minutes. To serve, mix together the pork chunks with the fried onions and toss.

Serve the carne frita with slices of avocado and boiled yuca with garlic mojo. Traditionally, we have these with tostones (twice-fried plantains) but we haven't had much luck finding them lately so I improvised.

¡Buen provecho!