Have You Tried Pinchos on Tenerife?

If you haven’t tried pinchos on Tenerife yet you’ve got a spicy, savoury treat in store.

Unless you’ve got your reasons for not eating pork, you’re missing out on one of the most delicious street foods you’re likely to wrap your teeth around. As well as bringing joy to your mouth, they’ll have your nostrils flaring with ecstasy as well. That might not be a pretty sight for others but with pinchos making love to your taste-buds who cares?

What are pinchos? The photo is self explanatory but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Pinchos in mainland Spain (pintxos in some parts) usually refer to tapas dishes, especially ones held together with a toothpick – the pincho.

In the Canary Islands the term pinchos is used in the same way as it is in Latin America, meaning what we’d call a brochette or kebab. Occasionally you’ll see them advertised as pinchos morunos. Pinchos are barbecued cubes of meat (spiced with paprika, cumin, saffron, coriander) and vegetables on a skewer. Most times, but not always, the meat is pork.

The best place to try pinchos is from a food stall at a fiesta. Any decent sized fiesta on Tenerife will have pinchos on sale – usually from makeshift kiosks. Impromptu open-air settings add to the flavour. They’re dead easy to find, simply follow your nose. The aroma pinchos send off to capture people is irresistible. And they’re cheap as chops; €2 on average.

To put it briefly, this is street food at its lip-licking best.

Jack is co-owner, writer and photographer for BuzzTrips and the Real Tenerife series of travel websites as well as a contributor to travel websites and travel magazines. Follow Jack on Google+