Forums > Specific Focus > Mexican Kitchen

mazatman

Feb 8, 2010, 7:27 PM

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Mystery Meat

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It's happened again, this time in Mexico City, at a small restaurant near the zócalo.

We all decided on the pollo mole and having a preference for dark meat I ordered the leg (pierna) while the others ordered the breast (pechuga). I was served a very large and very meaty leg of about 6 inches in length with a huge knuckle at one end. The meat was entirely white, very tender, with a smooth texture, and slightly sweet but it definitely did not taste like any chicken I've ever had. Being Canadian I didn't make a fuss so I ate some of it to be polite. Any idea what it was?

The previous time was about a year ago at a small outdoor restaurant near the Morelia Monarch reserve, it was exactly the same thing and at that time we thought it might be something like guinea fowl but I'm not sure what a guinea fowl tastes like.

Please don't tell me it was Rover.

MazDee

Feb 9, 2010, 9:42 AM

Post #2 of 5 (4778 views)

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Re: [mazatman] Mystery Meat

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What you were eating is pork. Don't ask me why, but pork seems to be called pierna more often than puerco. In fact, I never hear puerco.

Anonimo

Feb 9, 2010, 10:14 AM

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Re: [mazatman] Mystery Meat

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In fact, it sounds a lot like "Chamorro", or pork shank.

Saludos,
Anonimo

esperanza

Feb 9, 2010, 12:47 PM

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Re: [Anonimo] Mystery Meat

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Pierna is what people in the USA call pork butt, or fresh ham. Chamorro is pork shank, what you might think of as the ankle of the animal.

When pierna (generically called either carne de puerco or carne de cerdo) is used in mole, it's normally cut into cubes about 1.5" big. Chamorro would be cooked on the bone and served, still on the bone, in mole.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

lostinmex

Feb 9, 2010, 1:05 PM

Post #5 of 5 (4752 views)

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Re: [mazatman] Mystery Meat

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I'm surprised you ate it without knowing what it was. But I guess being Canadian....