Monday, January 24, 2011

Day 162

Grasitas: I had a couple errands to do today near the BHFM, so I figured I'd stop in for a quick browse. I hope my readers don't mind me shopping there so much, but it really is a great place to find new foods. And after all I've eaten, I can't really find anything at a conventional grocery store, anyway. As I did a quick stroll through the right side of the market (I always seem to start on that side), I ended up in the Hispanic meats/cheese section. I haven't bought much from the Hispanic aisles, and after noticing a few interesting things today, I now know I need to change that.

Beside the deli counter, I noticed a large section to the left that featured several fresh pork products. They had some homemade chicharones that looked good, but my eyes settled on something I'd never heard of: grasitas. I assumed it was some sort of pork, but not sure of what kind. Luckily, they had a small sample tray set up, so I decided to give them a try before committing.
At first glance, the grasitas looked like overcooked chunks of bacon, but with a much more oily sheen. I took a sample and popped it in my mouth, and it definitely tasted like bacon, but much more fatty. I have a feeling that this stuff was just fried pork fat, nothing more. However, they were super tasty in an artery-clogging way. Due to the greasiness, I ended up not buying any to take home. My stomach can be sensitive to high levels of grease/fat, which obviously was represented well with these. If you like bacon/pork/fatty goodness, you'd definitely like them - they were just a bit too much for me.

I did a bit of research on these when I got home, but couldn't find much info. If anyone knows what grasitas are exactly, please let me know.

3 comments:

  1. Fried pig fat with a little bit of skin attached.

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  2. Diane! Sorry, but that would be chicharrones (also available in a couple varieties at BHFM) or for us anglos fried pork rind. The grasitas at BHFM are chunks of pork belly, admittedly the less lean outer layers, but without the actual skin, deep fried and "seasoned"; pretty much just salted a bit. Good? oh, yeah! Good for ya? Not so much...

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  3. Correction: The BHFM grasitas are the afore mentioned belly chunks, but some do include the skin which adds a crunchy/chewey factor to some bites.

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