Colombian street food varies from region to region, offering a huge selection of delicious snacks, like grilled corn, hot dogs, empanadas, cheese arepas, and fresh fruit salads, to name a few. You will find street vendors in almost every neighborhood in Colombian cities and even in some small towns.
The food is prepared right there in front of you, tempting you with wonderful aromas, each vendor with his or her own style. In fact, some of these cooks gain such a good reputation for their food that people will travel long distances just to eat the food from that specific vendor (vendedor ambulante).
Chuzos o Pinchos (skewers) are a popular Colombian street food, but you also find them in fancy Traditional Colombian restaurants around the country. They are made with chicken, beef, fish or pork. What makes this Chuzos o Pinchos de Cerdo recipe special is the sauce, used as both the marinade and the basting sauce. It is a very flavorful sauce and makes the grilled pork taste absolutely amazing.
Chuzos o Pinchos are usually served with papa salada (salted potato) and arepa. Eating these Colombian-Style Grilled Pork Skewers last week brought me back to the streets of Medellín. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!
Buen provecho!
Ingredients
(6 chuzos)
- 2 pounds pork meat, cut into pieces
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 chopped scallions
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup of beer
- 1/4 cup of water
- Salt and black pepper
- Vegetable oil for brushing the skewers
Directions
- Place the onion, garlic, scallion, ground cumin, beer, water, salt and pepper in the food processor. Place half of the marinade in a large zip lock plastic bag.
- Add the pork pieces and let it marinate for 24 hours or for at least overnight in the refrigerator. Store the remaining marinade in a container in the fridge.
- Preheat the grill to high. Thread the pork onto skewers and brush with vegetable oil. Brush the pork often with the remaining marinade while it’s on the grill.
- rill until browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes total. Serve the skewers with a papa salada and small arepa.
cquek says
Ah, this entire post is exquisite!
grace says
i turn into a real cavewoman when grilled meat is involved. 🙂
Belinda @zomppa says
Street food is usually a can not go wrong approach!
Joan Nova says
Delicioso … I want it all!
JW says
what’s the recipe for those tiny arepas?
Erica Dinho says
It is the same recipe for regular arepas, but you make them smaller.
Click here for the recipe: http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/cheese-cornmeal-patties-arepas-de-queso
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
Love street food! These skewers look very tasty!
Evelyne@cheapethniceatz says
24 hours of marinades on yummy pork, that is my idea of a great street snack.
Elizabeth says
Erika: Excelentes recetas de nuestro amado Colombia.
Te felicito por difundir nuestra rica gastronomia.
Bendiciones.
Mark says
Absolute best “chuzos” in Colombia during my youth were found at the Club Campestre in Cali. Many a pig went to piggy heaven on my behalf during my life. Chuzos are the major reason.
Alejandro says
What’s the best kind of pork cut to buy for the chuzos
David says
I had a relative (by marriage) make chuzo pan for us, and she topped it with a homemade white sauce that I am unfamiliar with, but is delicious. Does anyone know what I’m speaking of? It looks very similar to this:
mariobross.com.co/producto/chuzo-pan-pollo/
Thank you!
Erica Dinho says
White or pink?
I have a recipe for salsa de ajo here—-> http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/salsa-de-ajo-garlic-sauce