Name: Lechona Tamareña from Támara
Prep time: 1 h 40 min
Cook time: 4 h
Total time: 13 h 40 min
Cuisine: Colombian
Ingredients: 1.2 kg cleaned, intact pork-skin panel, trimmed by a butcher and large enough to wrap the filling; 2.0 kg pork shoulder from the same animal if available, cut into 2 cm pieces; 400 g cleaned pork cheek or other head meat from the same animal, cut into 2 cm pieces; 250 g dried yellow peas (arveja amarilla), soaked 8–12 hours and drained; 300 g dry white rice, rinsed and cooked separately until just tender; 200 g scallions, finely chopped; 30 g garlic (about 8 cloves), finely chopped; 28 g fine salt, divided; adjust after tasting the cooked filling; 6 g ground cumin; 3 g ground black pepper; 30 ml neutral oil or rendered pork fat; 1.5 L water or unsalted pork stock for cooking the peas and moistening the filling as needed

Wide view of golden crisp Lechona Tamareña on a rustic Casanare table.

Yield 12 servings

Active preparation about 1 hour 40 minutes

Passive preparation 8–12 hours for soaking the peas

Cooking about 4 hours, then a short crisping finish; use temperature, not time alone

Total time about 13 hours 40 minutes, including the minimum soak

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Lechona Tamareña from Támara

The Colombian Ministry of Culture’s traditional recipe inventory records Lechona Tamareña in Támara, Casanare. Its description is specific: pork skin keeps the shape of a pig and includes the head, while the filling combines rice, yellow peas and pieces of pork from the same animal. The inventory names Tirso Antonio Forero Cuadra as a bearer, but does not provide quantities, seasoning, cooking technique or timing.

This home-scale recipe is therefore a practical adaptation, not a claim to reproduce a particular household’s method. Ask a butcher for a cleaned, intact skin panel and cleaned pork cheek or other head meat from the same animal. The smaller roast will not reproduce the full animal form literally, but the shaped skin, head meat and documented filling remain. Keep the rice and peas visible as distinct parts of the stuffing; this is not the rice-free lechona described in some Tolima traditions.

The filling is cooked before it goes into the skin: the peas until tender, the rice just tender, and the pork browned with a restrained onion-and-garlic seasoning. This makes the roast easier to portion and avoids relying on raw grains to cook inside a dense bundle. Fill the skin loosely so heat can reach the center. Because the roast is stuffed, a thermometer reading in the middle of the filling is essential; the center must reach 74°C before the skin is crisped at higher heat.

Ingredients

Skin and filling

1.2 kg cleaned, intact pork-skin panel, trimmed by a butcher and large enough to wrap the filling
2.0 kg pork shoulder from the same animal if available, cut into 2 cm pieces
400 g cleaned pork cheek or other head meat from the same animal, cut into 2 cm pieces
250 g dried yellow peas (arveja amarilla), soaked 8–12 hours and drained
300 g dry white rice, rinsed and cooked separately until just tender
200 g scallions, finely chopped
30 g garlic (about 8 cloves), finely chopped
28 g fine salt, divided; adjust after tasting the cooked filling
6 g ground cumin
3 g ground black pepper
30 ml neutral oil or rendered pork fat
1.5 L water or unsalted pork stock for cooking the peas and moistening the filling as needed

Method

Arrange the butcher preparation and soak the peas Ask the butcher to clean and trim an intact skin panel and provide cleaned cheek or head meat. Keep all raw pork refrigerated at or below 4°C and separate from ready-to-eat foods. Soak the peas in the refrigerator for 8–12 hours, not on the counter. Drain and discard the soaking water.
Cook the peas, rice and pork separately Simmer the drained peas in fresh water until fully tender, then drain. Cook the rinsed rice separately until just tender and spread it in a shallow tray to cool quickly. Heat the oil or pork fat in batches and brown the shoulder and cheek pieces. Add the scallions and garlic and cook until softened; stir in the cumin, pepper and divided salt. Combine the pork with the cooked peas and rice. Add a little hot unsalted stock only if the mixture seems dry. Spread the filling in shallow containers and cool promptly; refrigerate until assembly.
Fill and close the skin loosely Heat the oven to 163°C. Pat the skin dry and season its inner surface lightly with some of the measured salt. Spoon in the chilled filling without packing it tightly; leave room for the rice and peas to expand slightly and for heat to circulate. Shape the skin into a compact pig-like parcel, include the head meat in the filling, and sew or tie the opening securely with food-safe butcher’s twine. Place seam-side down on a rack in a roasting pan.
Roast until the center is safe Roast at 163°C for about 3½–4 hours as an initial estimate, but do not use the clock as the safety check. Insert a clean thermometer into the center of the filling at more than one point. The filling must reach at least 74°C throughout. If it has not, continue roasting and check again. If the skin darkens too quickly, shield it loosely with foil while the center finishes.
Crisp, rest and carve Only after the filling has reached 74°C, raise the oven to 230°C and crisp the skin for about 10–20 minutes, watching continuously so it does not burn. Rest the roast for 20 minutes. Cut across it so each serving includes skin, pork, rice and yellow peas. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours.

Practical guidance

Practical

Full recipe heading

Casanare pork-skin roast filled with pork, rice and yellow peas

Excerpt

This Támara specialty is recorded as pork skin shaped like a pig and filled with rice, yellow peas and pieces of the same animal, including the head. This smaller oven adaptation keeps those defining elements and uses a butcher-prepared skin panel.

Practical guidance

Keep the filling loose and cool before assembly Cooked rice and peas should be cooled quickly in shallow containers and kept refrigerated until the skin is ready. Do not leave cooked rice at room temperature. A tightly packed roast heats unevenly; fill loosely and check the center in several places. If the butcher-prepared skin tears, do not try to stretch it around more filling—remove some mixture and close the seam securely. Plan for the skin and serving size An intact skin panel is a special butcher order, and the shaping and sewing take time. Confirm the panel size before preparing the filling. This is a rich roast; carve modest portions and let the crisp skin share each slice. Keep the oven at 163°C or higher while the stuffed roast cooks, then use the hotter finish only after the filling is safe.

Allergens and food safety

Allergens: No major allergen is intentionally included. Check packaged stock and seasonings, and prevent cross-contact. The recipe contains pork and is not suitable for people avoiding pork. Food safety: Keep raw pork at or below 4°C, do not rinse it, and keep it separate from ready-to-eat foods. Soak peas under refrigeration. Cook the filling components before assembly and cool them quickly. Roast the loosely filled skin at no less than 163°C; verify at least 74°C in the center of the filling at several points. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours, keep at or below 4°C for 3–4 days, and reheat the center to 74°C.

Final notes

At the table: Cut each portion to include crisp pork skin, meat from the shoulder and head, rice and yellow peas. For an evenly cooked roast: Keep the filling loose and trust the thermometer at its center before crisping the skin.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size: one-twelfth of roast with skin, pork, rice and yellow peas
Energy: about 920 kcal
Carbohydrate: about 43 g
Protein: about 52 g
Fat: about 62 g
Fibre: about 5 g
Sodium: about 820 mg

Lechona Tamareña from Támara

Ingredients

Skin and filling

Method

Practical

Full recipe heading

Excerpt

Practical guidance

Allergens and food safety

Final notes

Nutrition per serving

Colombian National Dishes

Sancocho de Gallina de Ginebra

Sancocho de Gallina Criolla o Correteada

Fríjoles con Arroz