Mexican Name Finder
Main dishSpanishSinaloa

Chilorio

"pork cooked down in chile"

Say it

chee·LOH·ryoh

Built from

Spanish chilefrom Nahuatl chīlli+-oriosuffix

What Chilorio means

Chilorio is a Mexican main dish name of Spanish origin meaning "pork cooked down in chile". It is built from Spanish chile (from Nahuatl chīlli) and -orio (suffix). It is pronounced chee-LOH-ryoh, and it is most associated with Sinaloa.

Etymology uncertain past the obvious chile root: -orio is not a productive Mexican food ending and the word stays confined to Sinaloa.

About this origin. The etymology is uncertain, disputed, or the name is a modern brand rather than an old word. The reading above is the best-supported one; food writing repeats stories that the dictionaries do not confirm.

This is a site about what Mexican words mean, so there is no recipe here. For the name itself: The plated dishes, most named for a cooking method or a place. Cochinita pibil is pork cooked in a píib, the Maya earth oven. Barbacoa gave English the word barbecue. Chiles en nogada is named for the walnut sauce that covers it.

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Chilorio means pork cooked down in chile

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