Pinchos Morunos or Pinchitos (Spanish Pork Kebabs)

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I can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon than by pigging out on Spanish Pinchos Morunos or Pinchitos (pork kebabs) and platters of jamón serrano, salchichón and chorizo.

Recently, I was kindly invited to do just that – all while aboard a bright pink bus – when The Pork Lovers tour bus arrived on Swansea’s Oxford Street at the end of August.

The Pork Lovers campaign

Making its way across the UK and Europe, The Pork Lovers tour is part of a pan-European campaign by the same name, which aims to encourage UK consumers to eat more European white pork and is funded by the EU, Spanish white pork producer, Nuestra Carna Blanca and Interporc, an organisation dedicated to promoting Spanish white pork.

While pork is Spain’s biggest livestock market and Spain is the world’s largest exporter of pork, it’s not quite as popular in the UK as other meat and poultry, like beef and chicken.

Aiming to quash common stereotypes of pork as being an unhealthy meat, the campaign seeks to educate us on the multiple nutritional benefits of Spanish white pork. It’s full of protein, minerals and vitamins; even if you’re on a low fat-diet, you can still tuck in to lean cuts like pork loin and tenderloin.

Furthermore, pork is such a versatile meat and with so many different cuts available, you can choose your cut according to the kind of dish you’re preparing. Visitors to The Pork Lovers tour bus can learn more about different cuts of pork and their uses through interactive screens, VR headsets and puzzles.

Spanish white pork isn’t just good for us, though. It’s also delicious. You only have to nibble on a sliver of jamón serrano to know that this is seriously good stuff. Slightly salty with a subtle sweetness, it’ll take your tapas table to another level!

Alternatively, (or in addition, more like!) feast on spicy chorizo or smoky salchichón.

For a tapas spread that’ll have everyone drooling, team your favourite Spanish cured pork meats with your favourite cheeses (don’t forget to include Spanish manchego cheese!), fresh figs, grapes, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, crackers and crusty bread.

Visitors to The Pork Lovers tour bus can also watch live cookery demonstrations and obtain cookery advice and tips from a qualified nutritionist and Spanish chef.

How to make Spanish Pinchos Morunos (a.k.a Pinchitos)

While on-board The Pork Lovers tour bus, I had the opportunity to learn how to cook authentic Pinchos Morunos (Spanish pork kebabs) alongside a Spanish chef in a live cookery demonstration. Take my advice and pay a visit to your nearest kitchen utensil store right now – by the time you’ve finished reading this post, you’re going to want to have some skewers handy to try out this recipe ASAP!

Despite being a popular Spanish tapas dish, the origins of Pinchos Morunos actually lie in the Moors – the North African Berber tribes who occupied much of the Iberian Peninsula between the 8th and 15th Century. As Muslims, they didn’t eat pork. They cooked this popular Middle Eastern and African Moorish meat dish using lamb instead of pork. Eventually, however, when the Moors were defeated in Granada in 1492, the lamb was replaced with pork.

Traditionally, Pinchos Morunos can be made using any spices you happen to find lying around in your cupboard, but it seems like every Spanish chef or home cook has their own unique recipe. We used cumin, paprika, mixed spice, ground coriander and cayenne pepper but feel free to experiment according to the ingredients you have and your personal preferences.

This recipe uses pork loin, a cut of pork taken from the back of the pig, from the shoulder to the rear. Pork loin works well for Pinchos Morunos as it’s such a lean cut of meat and it has a pleasantly mild flavour.

Although the meat should ideally be marinated overnight, an hour will do if you’re cooking at short notice. Once you’ve marinated the pork, this is a pretty quick and easy dish to prepare, ready in around 40 minutes including preparation time.

While most Pinchos Morunos recipes don’t include veg, adding chunks of peppers and onions to the skewers certainly helps to brighten things up and enhances the nutritional value of the dish.

Pinchos Morunos sauce

Although Pinchos Morunos is usually served with a red pepper sauce known as mojo picón, it goes just as well with Romesco sauce, as I discovered while on-board the Pork Lovers tour bus.

This traditional Catalonian sauce has a rich, aromatic tomato-based flavour that goes hand-in-hand with these subtly spicy Spanish pork kebabs.

Made using just tomatoes, bread, olive oil, garlic, salt and freshly ground black pepper, Romesco sauce is extremely affordable and easy to make. We garnished ours with some finely chopped jamón serrano, fried until crispy.

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5 from 14 votes

Pinchos Morunos & Romesco Sauce

Perfect for a Spanish tapas spread, Pinchos Morunos are Spanish kebabs consisting of succulent chunks of pork loin marinated in spices and skewered, before being pan-fried or grilled. The Romesco sauce makes for the perfect accompaniment, ready in just five minutes and packed with juicy tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and garlic.

Course Appetizer, Dinner, Tapas

Cuisine Spanish, Tapas

Keyword Moorish kebabs, Pinchos Morunos, Pork, Spanish pork kebabs

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Marinating Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4 skewers

Calories 450kcal

Author Interporc

Cost 2-3

Equipment

• 4 metal or wooden skewers
• Hand blender

Ingredients

For the Pinchos Morunos

• 400 g pork loin trimmed of fat and cut into one-inch cubes
• 1 red pepper deseeded and cut into one-inch chunks
• 1 green pepper deseeded and cut into one-inch chunks
• 1 medium white onion sliced into quarters
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3-4 tbsp Spanish olive oil for frying
• 4 rashers Spanish bacon cut into two-inch squares

For the Romesco sauce

• 3-4 ripe tomatoes (ideally on-the-vine) sliced into quarters
• 100g crusty bread (ideally a few days old) broken into chunks
• 2 whole garlic cloves peeled
• 2 rashers Spanish bacon finely chopped
• 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• pinch freshly ground black pepper
• pinch course sea salt or kosher salt

Instructions

For the Pinchos Morunos

• Combine all the spices in a large bowl, then add the cubed pork and combine until the meat is thoroughly coated.
• Cover and place in the fridge to marinate for at least one hour or, ideally, overnight.
• Once the pork has finished marinating, it's time to start assembling your Pinchos Morunos. Slide a chunk of pork onto a skewer, followed by a chunk of onion (try not to use more than two layers in thickness, otherwise it takes ages to cook!), and a piece of red and green pepper, followed by a slice of Spanish bacon. Repeat the process until you have four pork kebab skewers.
• It's time to get cooking! If you'll be pan-frying your pinchos morunos, heat up around one tablespoon of olive oil in a shallow frying pan over a medium-high heat, then carefully transfer the kebabs to the pan. Ideally, you should use a pan with a lid so you can cover the kebabs to ensure the meat cooks thoroughly throughout as quickly as possible. Turn the skewers every few minutes or so to allow the meat to cook evenly. You'll probably need to cook them for at least around 15-20 minutes.

  You can also cook your pinchos morunos under the grill and they'll taste even better cooked on the barbecue.

For the Romesco sauce

• Meanwhile, prepare the Romesco sauce. Combine the tomatoes, bread, garlic cloves and around one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Using a hand blender, mix the ingredients together to form a thick sauce with a dip-like consistency, gradually adding more olive oil. Taste the sauce to ensure it is to your liking and add more ingredients or seasoning to suit your preferences. Then, transfer it to a small bowl for serving.
• Finely chop the Spanish bacon, then fry in a little olive oil over a medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, until crispy. Remove it from the pan using a slotted spoon and place it onto some kitchen towel to cool and to soak up any excess oil. Finally, use the crispy bacon pieces to top your Romesco sauce as a tasty garnish.
• Once cooked, serve your Pinchos Morunos with the Romesco sauce, washed down with a glass of red wine. Delicioso!

Video

Notes

• Feel free to experiment with different spices and quantities; perhaps even add a few fresh herbs to the marinade!
• When making the Romesco sauce, it’s best to use a good-quality loaf of bread that’s a few days old and slightly stale – so plan ahead!
• When marinating the pork, you might find it useful to place all the marinade ingredients into a freezer bag, seal it and ensure all the pork is fully coated in the spices before transferring it to the fridge. 
• If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them in water beforehand to prevent them from burning during cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 450kcal

After the time I spent on-board The Pork Lovers tour bus, I can certainly see myself eating more pork from now on! Can you?

Read more about The Pork Lovers campaign here.

How often do you eat pork? Share your favourite recipes and cookery tips in the comment box below.

Don’t forget to pin this post so you can try out this pinchos muronos recipe at home!

If you liked this recipe, why not check out these dishes too?

• Welsh Rarebit
• New York Bagels
• Greek Spetzofai
• King Prawn Linguine

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