Carne Frita, Pork Version

What can I say about carne frita other than I love it. I prefer to make it with pork, but beef and or lamb will also work as well as chicken breast (but then you have chicken nuggets, lol). Carne Frita is one of those dishes that you will find through out the island's many eateries. Mostly accompanied by our delicious mofongo.

What is carne frita?

Best cuts of meats for carne frita

How do I like my carne frita?

Because carne frita is a deep-fried dish, it is not something I cook on a regular basis. So, when I do cook this dish, it has become a super special and anticipated, at least by me, event. This was one of my father's favorite dishes too. He liked it with VIANDAS~vee-an-dahs (which is our word for tubers or root vegetables). I prefer to accompany my carne frita with cooked green bananas in a pickled onion sauce called ESCABECHE~eis-kah-bei-chai. Recipe for escabeche will follow soon.

So, carne frita can be made as simply as the name suggests. Dice your meat in bite size pieces and pan-fry it. But, I like to give my choice of protein a dusting of seasoned flour before deep frying. It creates a barrier of protection around the meat. This barrier helps to maintain moisture in the protein and keeps the meat from becoming dry and crispy. I also, do not cook the meat fully in the oil, I remove it from the oil half way and finish it with onions later.

Let's begin!

Now, you can use any type of meat for this dish, but pork is always my favorite. I also have tried in different cuts of meat, but for ease of time I prefer the country style pork ribs. Here is a page explaining more on where the ribs come from and other ways to cook them. I do make these ribs in occasion as ribs, but I find they have just the right amount of fat and the meat is tender as is, plus the cut helps in making a bite size quicker and easier.

I take the ribs and dice them into thirds or quarters. Season flour with salt, pepper, and powdered garlic. Dust the pork pieces with flour mixture. Heat a pan with oil. Begin frying the pork pieces in batches. Do not fry the pork all the way. Only cook the pork half way. Once the pork is golden, pull off of the oil and continue frying the rest of the pork in batches.

While the pork fries slice a yellow onion into thin strips, or julienne. Once all pork pieces are cook to golden brown, remove excess oil from the pan and begin frying the yellow onions. Cook the onions until golden brown and soft. Add the pork pieces and any rendered liquid the pork drain out to the pan. Also add about a tablespoon of already made adobo. Cook for another five to ten minutes. Serve with a side of rice or sweet potatoes

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