Carne de chango
A smoke-cured pork dish born from monkey meat scarcity.
Carne de chango is a traditional dish from the Catemaco region of Veracruz, Mexico, originally made with monkey meat but now prepared with lime-marinated, smoke-cured pork loin. The dish reflects the region's culinary heritage and the environmental pressures that led to the substitution of its primary ingredient.
Quick Facts
- Course
- Main
- Country
- Mexico
- Region
- Veracruz
- Creator
- <!-- or
- Main Ingredient
- Pork
- Minor Ingredient
- Lemon juice, orange juice, garlic, achiote, salt, Black pepper
- No Recipes
- true
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Carne de chango originated as a dish made with meat from the two monkey species native to the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas. Overhunting drove these primates to the edge of extinction, prompting a switch to pork loin as the primary ingredient. The pork is marinated for several hours in citrus juice, salt, pepper, and sometimes garlic and achiote, then smoked over guava or orange wood with added sugarcane or piloncillo to enhance smoke production.
Reader's Guide
The dish is a symbol of Catemacan cuisine, its reddish color and unique taste derived from the marination and smoking process. While most restaurants have banned the use of real monkey meat due to prohibition, it is still consumed in private banquets. The shift from monkey to pork highlights the impact of deforestation and the pet trade on local primate populations. A festival, Changos, y Monos, Tesoros de los Tuxtlas, has been held annually since 2013 to raise awareness about the problem. The dish also connects to a separate environmental incident: in 1974, a non-native macaque species was introduced to Isla de los Monos for pharmaceutical research, leading to birth defects; in 2011, these were replaced with 16 native spider monkeys.
Did You Know?
- The dish's name translates to 'monkey meat' in Spanish, though it is now made with pork.
- Two monkey species in the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas were hunted to near extinction, causing the switch to pork.
- A festival called Changos, y Monos, Tesoros de los Tuxtlas has been celebrated every October since 2013 in Catemaco.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Carne de chango?
Carne de chango is a smoke-cured pork loin dish that hails from the Catemaco area in Veracruz, Mexico. It is a regional specialty with deep roots in the Tuxtlas highlands' culinary tradition.
What are Carne de chango's powers/role?
The dish earns its smoky, tangy character from a citrus-based marinade (orange or lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sometimes garlic or achiote) followed by slow smoking over young guava or orange tree wood, often sweetened with sugarcane or piloncillo. Its role in the canon is as the signature protein of Catemaco and a showcase of the region's curing techniques.
Why is Carne de chango important?
The dish is a living record of how ecological pressures reshaped a community's food traditions, shifting the star protein from wild monkey to domesticated pork. Since 2013 it has been a featured highlight of the 'Changos, y Monos, Tesoros de los Tuxtlas' festival, cementing its place in regional cultural programming.
What's Carne de chango's origin story?
The recipe originally featured monkey meat as its primary ingredient, a practice common in the Tuxtlas before dwindling wild populations made that source unsustainable. The transition to pork loin preserved the citrus marinade and wood-smoking technique while adapting the dish to available, ethical ingredients.
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