Name: Tacacho con cecina
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 64 min
Total time: 89 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 1000 g green cooking plantains, peeled weight, cut into 5 cm chunks (must be green, not ripe); 60 g pork lard, fresh, measured (for plantain mash); 120 g cooked pork chicharrón, crisp cooked pork, finely chopped (warm before folding in); 600 g Amazonian smoked pork cecina, four 150 g pieces from legal refrigerated food supplier (check raw/ready-to-eat status); 200 g cocona fruit, washed and diced (ripe tart Amazonian fruit); 80 g red onion, finely diced (relish); 10 g ají charapita, seeded and finely chopped (hot pepper; gloves recommended); 30 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed (relish); 15 ml vegetable oil, for warming cecina (measured); 6 g salt, 4 g mash and 2 g relish (cecina and chicharrón already salty)

Tacacho con cecina — green-plantain mash with smoked pork

Yield 4 plates, 8 plantain balls

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 64 minutes

Passive 0 minutes

Total 89 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Tacacho con cecina — green-plantain mash with smoked pork

Tacacho con cecina combines two distinct textures. Firm, green cooking plantain is heated until soft enough to pound, then mixed with pork fat and finely chopped chicharrón. Alongside it sits cecina, the seasoned, often smoked meat sold in Amazonian Peru. The pairing is especially associated with Peru’s eastern regions.

Plantains must be genuinely green, not sweet yellow bananas. As they cook, starch becomes tender without the sugary softness of ripe fruit. Roast them covered in the oven to reproduce the cooked interior required for pounding; this is a domestic alternative to the charcoal-roasted plantain used in some regional kitchens.

The cecina needs attention to its label. It may be sold ready-to-eat or as smoked meat that still requires thorough cooking; this recipe heats it to a conservative safe target. A small cocona-onion relish balances the substantial plantain and pork without changing the central identity of the dish.

Practical

IdentitySelect firm green cooking plantains; ripe sweet fruit will not make the same tacacho.
TexturePound hot plantain thoroughly before the mash firms as it cools.
Final controlCheck the cecina label and heat the meat sufficiently; the condiment is served separately.

Ingredients

1000 g green cooking plantains, peeled weight, cut into 5 cm chunks (must be green, not ripe)
60 g pork lard, fresh, measured (for plantain mash)
120 g cooked pork chicharrón, crisp cooked pork, finely chopped (warm before folding in)
600 g Amazonian smoked pork cecina, four 150 g pieces from legal refrigerated food supplier (check raw/ready-to-eat status)
200 g cocona fruit, washed and diced (ripe tart Amazonian fruit)
80 g red onion, finely diced (relish)
10 g ají charapita, seeded and finely chopped (hot pepper; gloves recommended)
30 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed (relish)
15 ml vegetable oil, for warming cecina (measured)
6 g salt, 4 g mash and 2 g relish (cecina and chicharrón already salty)

Method

Roast the firm plantain.Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Place the peeled plantain chunks in a covered baking dish and bake for 35–45 minutes, turning at 20 minutes so the centres soften without drying. A fork slides through each dense plantain chunk with little resistance, but the pieces keep their shape.
Warm the pork mixture.Melt the lard gently in a small pan for 3 minutes and fold in the chopped, fully cooked chicharrón just until warm. Avoid frying it so long that it becomes tough. The fat is liquid and the chicharrón is warmed through while remaining pleasantly crisp.
Pound and shape tacacho.Transfer hot cooked plantains to a sturdy bowl. Mash with a pestle, then work in all the warm lard, chicharrón and 4 g salt for about 8 minutes. Form eight compact balls, two for each person. The mash is cohesive, with visible flecks of pork and no hard raw centre.
Heat the smoked cecina safely.Warm 15 ml oil in a heavy frying pan. Cook all four cecina pieces for about 6 minutes per side, in batches if required, until evenly heated and a thermometer measures 74 °C in the thickest meat. The surface is lightly seared and the meat remains sliceable rather than hard. Safety: treat unknown or non-ready-to-eat cecina as requiring thorough cooking; follow any stricter manufacturer directions.
Mix the tart cocona relish.Combine cocona, red onion, ají charapita, lime juice and remaining 2 g salt in a clean bowl for 5 minutes. Let it stand only while the plated food is finished. The cocona remains chunky and tangy, with its juice lightly coating the diced onion.
Serve before the mash cools.Put two warm tacacho balls beside each cecina portion and pass the cocona relish separately. Avoid covering the balls in liquid; a lightly crisp exterior and dense soft centre make their texture distinct. Each plate has two intact plantain balls, a portion of meat and a spoonful of relish. Safety: refrigerate leftovers promptly and reheat pork thoroughly to 74 °C.

Practical

Practical guidance

Pound green plantains while hot; once they cool, the starch becomes difficult to press into a cohesive ball. If the surface appears dry, keep working the measured warm lard into the centre rather than adding an unlisted liquid. Cecina is a specific Amazonian salted or smoked pork product, not interchangeable with standard raw steak or Spanish beef cecina. If a substitute is unavoidable, declare the changed flavour and processing explicitly. Keep the fresh relish separately refrigerated from the cooked pork. Store leftovers within two hours for up to 3–4 days; reheat the meat to 74 °C and the plantain until steaming throughout. Substitutions and their effects Oven-roasting plantain instead of charcoal-roasting is a home equipment adaptation; smoke flavour will be weaker.

Control points

Common problemCrumbly tacacho usually means the plantain centre was undercooked or the mixture cooled before mashing; cook the plantain until fully tender and pound it immediately.
Common problemTough cecina usually means excessive heat or a very lean, dry product; reduce the heat after searing and follow the producer’s cook-through guidance.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size1 plate with 2 balls and 150 g cecina
Calories895 kcal
Carbohydrates83 g
Protein41 g
Fat47 g
Fibre6 g
Sodium2100 mg

Allergens and food safety

Contains pork; check packaged cecina and chicharrón for any additional declared allergens. Keep ready-to-eat relish away from raw smoked meat; check product label and cook cecina to 74 °C here.

Closing

What to expect: Warm balls of mashed green plantain enriched with lard and crisp pork are served beside heated Amazonian cecina and a sharp cocona relish.
Most important control: Respect the defining cooking sequence and follow the observable readiness cues and safety temperatures.

Tacacho con cecina — green-plantain mash with smoked pork

Practical

Ingredients

Ingredients

Method

Practical

Practical guidance

Control points

Nutrition per serving

Allergens and food safety

Closing

Peruvian National Dishes

Patarashca de pescado

Inchicapi de gallina

Picante a la tacneña