🐄 Chicharrón de Res (Beef Cracklings) 💛
This week, I’m excited to share my Chicharrón de Res recipe, also known as beef cracklings. It’s a delicious take on the traditional pork rind concept, made from the flavorful bits left over when rendering beef fat into tallow. These crispy morsels are addictive on their own, and they’re also fantastic as a pizza topping, folded into quesadillas, or as a garnish with scrambled eggs, basically, anywhere you’d like a burst of savory crunch.
I like to make my Chicharrón de Res using brisket trimmings. Whenever I buy a whole brisket for smoking, I’m always amazed at how much excess fat I have to remove, and I’d rather not waste such a valuable resource. If you’re not trimming a brisket or any other large cut of beef, you can often find beef fat at local markets for just a dollar or two per pound.
You’ll end up with a generous amount of rendered beef fat, also known as tallow, from this process. I lovingly call it “liquid gold” because it’s so versatile: tallow is fantastic for high-heat cooking, it can replace any vegetable oil in recipes, and it even makes a soothing natural skin moisturizer.
The beauty of this recipe is how adaptable it is. You can render the fat in a pot on the stovetop, in a pressure cooker, or even in a slow cooker if that’s more convenient. Once your fat is rendered, you can turn those leftover beef bits into crispy cracklings in a skillet, an air fryer, or by using the sauté setting on your Instant Pot. However you decide to prepare them, these savory little bites are sure to steal the show.
Chicharrón de Res (Beef Cracklings) Recipe
Difficulty Level: 4 Meatballs
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Servings: 6
- 2–3 pounds of beef fat or trimmings (cut into 1-inch pieces)
- 1 cup of water
- Salt or preferred seasonings
Place trimmings in your vessel of choice with one cup of water.
If using a pressure cooker:
Cook on high pressure for one hour.
If using a stovetop pot:
Cook over medium heat for two to three hours or until most of the fat has melted.
If using a slow cooker:
Cook for 12 hours on low.
Once the fat is rendered, carefully strain everything through a metal strainer or cheesecloth to separate the liquid tallow from the leftover solid pieces. Save the liquid tallow in a heatproof container, let it cool on the counter, and store it in the fridge for later use.
Meanwhile, transfer the drained beef pieces to a pan, place it over medium heat, and pan-fry them for around 20 to 30 minutes or until they turn crispy and golden brown. Stir them every 10 minutes or so to avoid burning them.
Add salt or your favorite seasonings, and enjoy these savory beef cracklings on their own or as a crunchy garnish.