This Company In Bayamón, Puerto Rico Has Been Making Chicharrones For Over 100-years
How A Local Company Stays Alive In El Pueblo del Chicharrón
Roadside sellers of chicharron in Puerto Rico have said they see the consumption of chicharron, mavi and pan de hogaza coming to a halt. One vendor claims that he’s been selling for nearly 20 years and that there was a time when he would bring home $600. These days? He brings home closer to $100 a day. He says that this generation just isn’t interested in “a centuries-old Puerto Rican tradition.” Many older Puerto Ricans share this same sentiment. They’re afraid that tradition is going to die in a few years because the customer base is older, or have moved away from the island.
It’s not surprising that the tradition of making chicharron was just another European byproduct, part of an attempt to preserve local meat during a time when refrigeration didn’t exist. But the skin alone is not preserved if fried; it must be fried with a layer of fat. The chicharron sold in Bayamon has the thinnest layer of grasita still attached and it’s what they call Volao.
