Revolcado de cerdo is a Guatemalan stew made with pork meat and offal in a thick chile and tomato sauce, traditionally prepared using the leftovers from a home pig slaughter.
It’s a resourceful dish with deep roots in Guatemalan home cooking, with the intense flavor characteristic of the region’s stews.
Print
Guatemalan Pork Stew
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Guatemalan
Ingredients
- 1 kg of assorted pork meat and offal (liver, kidney, heart, meat) (about 2.2 lb)
- 4 tomatoes, roasted
- 3 dried guaque chiles
- 2 dried pasa chiles
- 1 onion, roasted
- 3 cloves of garlic, roasted
- 1 slice of French bread, toasted
- 1 sprig of mint
- Salt, to taste
- Water for cooking the meat and offal
- White rice and tortillas, for serving (optional)
- 1 pinch of achiote (annatto)
Preparation
- Cook the meat and offal, boil the pork meat and offal in salted water until tender, reserving the broth.
- Cut, cut the cooked meat and offal into small pieces.
- Prepare the chiles, lightly toast the guaque and pasa chiles and soak them in hot water until softened.
- Blend the sauce, blend the soaked chiles, roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic, toasted bread, and achiote with a little broth until you get a thick, smooth sauce.
- Cook the stew, pour the blended sauce into the pot together with the chopped meat and offal, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it thickens.
- Add aromatics, add the mint toward the end of cooking.
- Adjust seasoning, correct the salt to taste.
- Serve, serve hot, with white rice and tortillas.
Tips for getting it right
- Revolcado traditionally makes use of different parts of the pig; the ratio of meat to offal can be adjusted to preference.
- The toasted bread helps thicken the sauce and gives this stew its characteristic body.
- Stirring frequently during cooking keeps the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Toasting the chiles carefully, without burning them, keeps the stew from turning bitter.
Traditional variations
- It’s a resourceful dish, traditionally prepared using the leftovers from a home pig slaughter.
- Some families use only pork meat, without offal, for a milder version.
How to serve
Revolcado de cerdo is served hot, in a deep bowl, with white rice and corn tortillas.
It’s a dish with deep roots in Guatemalan home cooking, valued for its intense flavor.
Recommended sides
- White rice
- Corn tortillas
Did you know?
The name “revolcado” (tumbled/stirred) refers to the technique of constantly stirring the meat and offal in the thick sauce during cooking.
It’s traditionally a resourceful dish, prepared using the different parts of the pig after a home slaughter.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's a Guatemalan stew of pork meat and offal in a thick chile and tomato sauce, traditional to the country's home cooking.
The name comes from the technique of constantly stirring the meat in the thick sauce while it cooks.
Yes, some families make a milder version using only pork meat, without offal.
It was traditionally prepared to make use of the different parts of the pig after a home slaughter.
