A very popular, juicy, colorful smoked pork chop rice recipe, Dominican locrio de chuleta ahumada is one of our favorite arroz (rice) dishes and is always welcome on our table. This easy dinner recipe is surely going to be an instant hit with your Dominican family or guests.
By - Reviewed: . Original: Jan 23, 2013
Why we ❤️ it
There are so many locrio recipes in Dominican cuisine and so many great choices that it is hard to pick a favorite, but locrio de chuleta has to be up there with the best. Locrio de chuleta is so full of gusto (flavor) that is almost a sure success with family and guests.
With a relatively short cooking time, this flavorful rice dish is filling and comforting and, since it's made on the stovetop, no need to use the oven at all. What a great way to sprinkle some happiness on your day.
Serving suggestions
Locrios are a main dish, never a side dish, and we typically serve it alongside tostones (or fritos maduros), salad, or avocado slices (or all of it, if we're feeling fancy). But now we get into disputed territory: To habichuela, or not to habichuela...
Every time we make an informal poll among our social media followers, the split is nearly always 50/50: half of Dominicans like habichuela guisada (stewed beans) with locrio, the other half does not. I, personally, follow a simple rule: is there a lot of veggies in the locrio? Then no habichuelas. Plain locrio: yes to habichuelas.
What do you think?
Locrio de chuleta (rice with smoked pork chops).
Top tips
I know that chuletas ahumadas (smoked pork chops) are not as easy to find abroad as they are in the Dominican Republic (where you can find them in any colmado). But if you can't find chuleta ahumada, try finding similar smoked pork meat (smoked chicken and smoked turkey work great too!).
About this recipe
Some of the ingredients in this recipe are my particular touches (which I got from my mom), like adding auyama to locrio for juicier rice with a wonderful color. Locrio to me also has to have olives, and I prefer it on the vegetable-rich side. You may later try to find just the things you like or not.
If you notice that this recipe looks suspiciously similar to our locrio de salami recipe, you are right. This is almost the same recipe but with a couple of differences. Another similar recipe I absolutely love, but a bit more involved, is my locrio de longaniza and shrimp.
If you're looking for other ways to cook smoked pork chops, try the asopao de chuleta (pottage) version. Or try this Instant pot pork chops and potatoes.
This recipe yields 6 servings.
Recipe
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Locrio de Chuleta Recipe (Rice with Smoked Pork Chops)
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 pound smoked pork chops, [0.45 kg], chopped
- ¼ cup diced cubanelle (cubanela) peppers, (cubanela)
- ½ teaspoon oregano (dry, ground)
- 1 small red onion, minced
- 1 garlic cloves, crushed
- ⅓ cup chopped celery, (optional)
- ¼ cup capers, (optional)
- ⅓ cup diced carrot, (optional)
- ¼ cup pitted green olives, (optional)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground)
- 1 cup diced auyama (kabocha squash), (West Indian pumpkin or kabocha squash
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 4 cups rice, long grain or Carolina
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
Instructions
1. Browning chuleta
In an aluminum pot (Amazon affiliate link) or cast iron (minimum 5 liters [1.5 gallon] capacity) heat half the oil over medium heatAdd the pork chops to the hot oil, and cook stirring to brown. Discard excess fat if you find it necessary.
2. Cooking vegetables
- Add cubanela peppers, oregano, onion, minced garlic, celery, capers, carrot, olives, black pepper, and auyama. Cook and stir for a minute.Stir in tomato sauce, pour 4 cups of water, and add the salt. Decrease the heat to medium and bring it to a boil.
3. Cooking rice
- When the water reaches a rolling boil, add the rice and cook, stirring regularly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. When almost all the liquid has evaporated, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook over very low heat (but enough to generate steam) for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, add the remaining oil and parsley, stir, and cover again. This oil will make the rice shiny, and the concón crispier, but you may leave it out if you wish.In 10 more minutes, taste the rice. It should be firm but soft inside. If necessary, cover again and simmer for another 5 minutes on low heat.
4. Serving
As soon as the rice is ready, remove it from the pot and place it in a serving dish (this prevents the concón from getting soggy).Scrape off the concón (rice stuck to the bottom) and serve on the side.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutrition information.
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FAQs
It really wouldn't work as well to use raw pork chops in place of smoked ones. The flavor and texture is different, so it's best to find smoked pork chops for this rice dish.
Locrio de chuleta is made by browning smoked pork chops, seasoning with spices, herbs and vegetables, then adding water. Rice is added and cooked in this broth.
Chuleta means pork chop in Spanish.
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