Lechona is a traditional Colombian dish made with pork, vegetables and spices. This amazing meal is very popular during the holidays.
Lechona Tolimense (Colombian-Style Stuffed Pork)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork fat back skins
- ¼ cup pork fat or lard
- 4 scallions chopped
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sazon with azafran or color
- ¾ cup peas yellow or green
- 1 ¼ cups cooked white rice
- Salt and pepper
- 2 pounds pound pork meat cut into small pieces
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan melt the pork fat or lard. Add the scallions and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes.
- In a large bowl mix the pork meat, cooked rice, ground cumin, sazon, peas,, salt and pepper.
- Add the pork fat and onion mixture to the bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- o assemble: Rinse the pork fat skin under cold water and pat dry. Lay the pork fat skin on a baking sheet or baking pan lined with foil, top with rice mixture. Start rolling the pork skin to enclose the rice and pork mixture completely. Tie with kitchen string to hold it together.
- Preheat the oven to 475 F.
- Bake for about 40 minutes uncovered to allow the skin to brown.Cover with foil and cook for about 45 minutes more.
- Remove from the oven and transfer it to a cutting board. Carve the lechona after it has rested for at least 15 minutes. Serve with arepa, salted potatoes and lime wedges on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Lechona Tolimense is a traditional dish, originally from the Tolima department of Colombia, is often served on special occasions. This popular dish consists of a whole pork stuffed with rice, peas and spices , cooked in a brick oven for about ten to twelve hours.
Lechona was Mamita's favorite Colombian dish and it was the main course at our Noche Buena, New Year's Eve celebrations and at her birthday parties. The most important thing for Mamita was that the skin was really crispy.
Noche Buena and New Year's Eve dinners at my grandmother's house were filled with tables groaning under the immense amount of food piled on top of it and people bustling to get to it. Two different kinds of pork roast, lechona, tamales, buñuelos, natilla, hojuelas, arroz con leche, brevas caladas, and two or three salads. Memories that I will always treasure. Mamita passed away about 10 years ago and even though the loss is over-whelming, I can’t help but remember her with a smile. She was the best Grandmother any girl could ask for.
Lechona Tolimense is a delicious meal. My mom has a recipe to make a small Lechona at home using pork skin and I want to share it with you. Sorry, but I could not afford a whole pig.
Enjoy it!
Note: If you want to see pictures of a traditional lechona made with a whole pig you can visit Nika's blog here. If you are a vegetarian, I don't recommend the pictures.
CARMEN
DELICIOSO , ME ENCANTAN TODAS SUS RECETAS , SOY FAN SUYO UN SALUDO
Claudia
OMG! that looks amazing. can't wait to make it. i've made many of your recipes and they have all been great and perfect. where can i purchase the Rumba product? thanks so much for sharing your recipes with us. =o)
Erica
Claudia- You can find pork skin at a Latin market.
Stephany
I love lechona i am a clombia girl i talk a little of french and i know inglish and spanish i cant go to clombia because of covid.
Zac
Okay, now that is Epic!!
Lina maría
I love all you dishes!!!!!
Thank you for sharing
Francijoe
This is great to eat for breakfast......:)
Lyndsey
It looks amazing! I agree with Claudia. I love your recipes and have made many! Thanks!
Joan Nova
Sabroso -- but only in small portions and definitely with a squeeze of lime juice.
Christine @ Fresh Local and Best
WOW! I'm imagining a whole pig roasted with all these goodies. I've never known that you can buy pork skin alone. This dish is quite a treat, and like your mom I love pork skin to be very crisp.
Jeannie
Won't the skin be tough? Looks good from the photos!
Erica
Jeannie- It is really crispy and delicious!!!
pierre
i love the way you cook the pork !! thanks for the sharing !!pierre de Paris
Joanne
This sounds like one delicious stuffed pork! Thanks for scaling it down...I can't see myself bringing home a whole pig either 😛
Barbara
Love the photos, Erica. The one of the dish coming out of the oven made my mouth water.
Funny comment about your vegetarian hubby!
Belinda @zomppa
Mmmmmmmmmm looks wonderful (and pork skin sounds pretty darn good too).
Carla
Oh my. Not too pretty to start out, but the end result is beautiful. I can just imagine all of the flavor from being tied in pork fat skins.
grace
welcome home, honey--here's a pig! yeah, that might not go over so well. 🙂 this dish, on the other hand, would be an absolute pleasure to behold upon arriving home--well done!
Faith
I love how crispy the skin got! It must have given so much flavor to this dish!
Pilar
Se ve delicioso!!
Erica
Thank you guys!
Oysterculture
Oh my, another incredible looking dish. My husband just looked over my shoulder and asked when he was getting this. Soon I hope!
Jessica
This sounds delicious! I just emailed it to my Aunt who was looking for a recipe like this!
norma
Give me all that skin.....que rico s e ve...
Chris
My grandmother used to make me fatback as a kid on summer vacation but she never got fancy like this! Spectacular cooking and presentation, Erica.
tasteofbeirut
How interesting Erica; I doubt I will find this here in Lebanon but I am fascinated with the process! Sounds so good too!
Sandra
Se ve muy rica pero yo soy del Tolima y en ese departamento se hace con puras carnes, papa, arveja, no se le agrega arroz. En Cundinamarca y otros departamentos es donde le agregan arroz.
Christina Mordenti
I wonder how it would be if I did this recipe with bacon instead of pork skin because I could not find the skin anywhere where I live? Has anyone tried that?
Karen
Erica... Quick question. Where do you find pork fat, or how do you make it?
Thanks this looks delishhhh!!!
Erica
Karen- I find pork fat at the meat department at my local market or you can ask the butcher.
Christine
Hi Erica -
Thank you for your great recipes! My husband is Colombian and I have really wanted to learn how to cook some of his favorites for him when we are in the states, but since my spanish is not fluent enough it was difficult to learn from his mother. I have been using your recipes while I am living in Bogota and so far they all have turned out delicious!
Lechona is one of his favorites so I am excited to try this one when we return to the states, especially since we just ate some in Tolima this past weekend!
Kelly Ospina
Thank you! I've been looking for a version of this recipe that I could make at home for just two people. This is perfect!
Gretel
Thank you so much for this! My family has always wanted to make Lechona but it's difficult to find a whole pig and also quite expensive. We're making this for Christmas, you saved us!! 😀
Andrea
Dear Erica, you have saved Christmas this year for our family. See we ordered lechona from a local Colombian Restaurant and it was ok tastewise, but it had no pork skin. You know lechona is not lechona without the skin, I just came back from my very american store and they had the pork skin to my surprise. I am about to sfuff it with the "semi-lechona" we ordered. Thanks! I would've never thought of buying pork skin! Merry Christmas.
Nana
Genial!
nunca pense en poder hacer lechona en mi casa. Tambien soy vegetariana por salud 🙁
Pero, el solo cuarito le va a dar ese sabor delicioso q' es lo q' mas me gusta.... uy q rico!
Where can I find the skin? I've never seen it!
Ana Maria Garcia
Me encantan tus recetas, he tratado algunas y me han salido bien. Me encanta este blog porque mi hijo (un futuro chef) tiene la oportunidad de conocer mas de nuestra comida tradicional. Gracias.
Cristina
Thanks for this recipe. I'm going to try it. I've been planning to cook a lechona, but this is fantastic for a first time try-out before attempting the real deal.
Melissa B. { hungryfoodlove }
This is too much! pork, crispy and stuffed with more yummines... I loved this so much I had to link it in my site along with my roasted pork post. I need to try this some day.
Aida
This Lechona Tolimense recipe is the greatest. If I can make it my husband will love me forever...:0)
My local supermarket does not carry the pork skin...where can I get it???
Martha gomez
Receta para tamales,porfa.gracias
Enver
MMmmmm!!..Al visitar Colombia comi Lechona y quede sorprendido de tan sabroso . A aquellos que nunca la han comido les digo que traten de probarlo y acuerdensen que solo en Colombia y aquellos Colombianos son los expertos en preparras.
Cony Joan
Hola!!!! una preguntica.....la carne se cocina antes de meterla dentro de cojin hecho con la piel del marranito???
Gracias!!!
Nosotros te seguimios desde Milano en Italia!!!! 🙂
Erica Dinho
No.
Maria Marino
LOVE all your recipes... Thank you for sharing!!!!
Me ENCANTAN todas tus recetas... Mil gracias por compartirlas!!!! 🙂
Anonymous
Erika eres la mejor!!! desde que descubri tus resetas haz echo mi vida y la de mi familia Colombiana, sentirnos como en casa. seguimos tus resetas y las preparamos en familia.
Gracias
Desde Arkansas
miguel
intentare hacerla se mira bien
podrias subir una de tamalez tolimenses
muchas gracias
Rolando Madamba
I watch food channel sometimes and I seen how they prepare this lechona.. The next day I tried to cook on my version...I stuff with spanished rice,carrots, onion, green peas,raisins,Parmesan cheese and I put lemon grass,black pepper, garlic and other seasonings on the akin before I stuff it..came out pretty good.my family ang friends was shock on the out come....skin was so crispy...I cook together with a pork belly lechon..
Carmen Ayala
Going to try to make it but was wondering can I do a short cut with Carnitas and mix it with the rice and then wrap it with the skin? Love your recipes and so does my husband he is from Bogota.
Jill Roberts @ WellnessGeeky
Definitely your lechona tolimense recipe is awesomeness! This is a great recipe, as you know I made it a short while ago and it was lovely, in fact have made it again since. Thanks for sharing!
Aurea
It is such a good recipe, one thing though Erica, is it very hard or is it easy. Thank you!!
Robin Hamilton @Wellness Wires
I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never had lechona tolimense! This recipe looks great though so hopefully that will change! Thanks for posting it, Erica!
Kara Mathys @Wellnessgrit
I made these lechona tolimense for the super bowl party and it was a crowd favorite. Thanks in advance and also for sharing 😉
Marilyn
They don't sell porkskin like that inMiami☹
Veronica
We're having a party to celebrate dishes from different cultures and this dish is just what I was looking for, everyone will love it for sure!
Rimmy
Thanks for your instructions. I tried to do. Unexpected success
Rimmy
i will practise to do gift for my girlfriend in the next halloween.
Susan Dubose
Thank you so very much for this recipe. It was well worth all of the wait time!
Richard Tunner
Good recipe, it's always been one of my favorite dishes to make!
Anthony Allen
I love it ! We will definatelly try it anytime soon.
Paul @Diet Blog Pro
lechona tolimense colombian style stuffed pork good idea. i love your recipe i tried your recipe all recipe make great .everyone like it. thanks for sharing.
Christina Moore
Columbian style pork recipe – it must be mouthwatering. We will be having party tomorrow and I am thinking if I will add it to my menu. Maybe steamed vegetable is perfect for a side dish.
Whits@amusebouche
This dish is beautiful and looks so delicious!! Great job as always
Peter Crouch
This dish is beautiful and looks so delicious!! Great job as always
Peter Crouch
I will make family dinner on the weekends.
my wife will love it.
Beks
This is very interesting! I've never heard of it.
Lori
wowww, that really look amazing...great recipe!
Jessica Luther
It took me 45 minutes to finish this dish your way.
Really great results. My whole family loves it.
they asked me to do more next time,
thank you
Sandra Allen
Si usted es religioso para comidas halal y kosher, le informaría cuándo intentaré esto. Perdona mi espãnol. This recipe looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing.
Melissa
I was so excited to see this “work around” to make a smaller amount. I worked with a guy years ago who used to bring me a plate of leftovers when he and his family did a whole pig at Christmas, then later tamales they made from their leftovers. It was so good and I have thought of it often. I also got to hear the hilarious stories of he and his uncle and cousins going to get the live pig and hauling it in the back of his very nice Ford Explorer (probably never smelled the same) and the displeasure of suburban neighbors at back-yard pig butchering.
Johannes Lörstad
Thank you for sharing your recipe. It looks absolutely delicious. I only have one question and that is if it’s possible to use some other meat? What would you recommend?
Thank you again!
Johannes Lörstad