Poc chuc
Photo: Gary Stevens · CC BY 2.0

Poc chuc is thin-sliced pork loin marinated in bitter orange, garlic and pepper and grilled over charcoal, served with rice, black beans, chiltomate salsa and charred red onion.

The name comes from Yucatec Maya póok, to toast, and chúuk, charcoal. Poc chuc is pork, preferably loin, sliced thin, marinated in bitter orange, garlic and pepper and grilled over charcoal, then served with rice, pickled red onion, frijoles colados, avocado, radish and a tomato salsa called chiltomate. Neither pork nor bitter orange is native to Yucatán, so the dish is a mestizo one; the Yucatecan historian Gonzalo Navarrete dates it to the mid-20th century at the restaurant Los Almendros in Ticul. In Cancún, Lonchería El Pocito serves it among its Yucatecan home dishes.

1 editor pick for Poc chuc in Cancún, ranked by editorial score. All Cancún signature dishes · Poc chuc across every city.

Also in: Mérida.

Lonchería El Pocito ★ 4.4

$YucatecanSupermanzanas

Lonchería El Pocito on Calle 31 Norte in Cancún cooks Yucatecan home dishes such as poc chuc, panuchos, sopa de lima and queso relleno from a chalkboard menu.

OrderQueso relleno in tomato broth, papadzules, and the black-bean and pork tamal.

TipLunch crowds clear the chalkboard, so arrive early; the restaurant opened in 1988 under the name La Cabañita.

DirectionsView

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Poc chuc makes more sense with someone from Cancún explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

Book food experiences in Cancún

See all 700 bookable experiences in Cancún