Lechonera Route · Fried Pork Cracklings
Chicharrón (Fried Pork Cracklings)
Photo: Meekers / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
The mountain town of Cayey's "La Ruta del Lechón" grew out of a handful of roadside lechoneras in Guavate decades ago and now hosts dozens of open-air lechoneras along one stretch of road.
Whole pork is roasted on a spit until the skin blisters into crisp, golden chicharrón, hacked into pieces with a machete and served by the pound alongside rice, morcilla, and yuca at open-air stands.
Why it's made this way: Cayey's Guavate barrio, in the mountains south of San Juan, became the island's undisputed pork-roasting capital, and its lechonera row is why chicharrón is inseparable from a drive through the interior.
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