Homemade Tocino: Sweet Mornings, Candied Pork

Tocino... any Filipino can tell you that this is one of the traditional and all-time favorite "ulam" or viand especially for breakfast. Looking up the actual definition of tocino, the web tells me that it is simply "bacon" in Spanish as it is usually the belly or the bacon part that is cured with salt and sugar with a little salt peter for color.

I haven't been able to create entries to my blog recently due to my Dad taking the laptop with him to Manila. Unfortunately for me, my own laptop is dead as dust so I have to settle with borrowing my Mom's. Without a laptop to work on, I usually spend my hours in the net just watching videos and looking stuff up. And after stopping by the grocery on my way home, I bought a hunk of pork shoulder with no idea what to do with it. I was just attracted to the beautiful pink color pork gives you when it's really fresh.

And thus commenced my latest preoccupation: meat processing!

I remember my Dad attempting to make this same dish when I was I think 6 or 7. He was boiling meat in I don't know what, but it smelled really weird, like dried fish crossed with vinegar or something. I made a comment to my aunt later on, which had her laughing out loud causing my newborn cousin to cry. With that memory in mind, I still liked eating Tocino, but simply veered away from attempting to make it from scratch. But with the around 600g of pork shoulder on hand with nothing to do, I tried to think of what to do with it. It was too little to brine to make ham, too little to make pot roast either. Then it hit me... TOCINO!!!

Okay, before I lose my trail of thought again, the recipe:

Ingredients

500 g pork, sliced 1/8 inch thick (if you don't know how to slice fillets like me, just ask your butcher to slice it "tapa" style)
1/2 cup sugar (I recommend muscovado since it adds a special flavor)
1 tbsp salt (2 tsp if you're using iodized)
10 ml Soju (or any clear liquor you can get your hands on)
1 tsp achuete powder or beet powder (for a tint of color)

Instructions

Curing
1. Mix sugar, salt, soju and (achuete/beet) powder in a bowl.
2. Coat the slices evenly.
3. Store in a zip-loc or plastic container (please do veer away from reactive metals like iron or aluminum as it might react with salt and the alcohol and might pose a risk to your health)
4. Cure inside the fridge for 24-48 hours. The longer you leave it, the more candied the flavor, especially the fat. I recommend putting it in the fridge to avoid culturing bacteria. Traditionally cured in room temp, but since we are not using salt-peter, there is the risk of developing bacteria in the meat. Curing it in the fridge takes care of this thus avoiding the need to use salt peter.

Cooking
1. After curing, you can either cook the meat or repack it for freezing and storage.
2. Tocino is traditionally cooked 2 ways, you can fry it in oil, or boiling.
3. Frying, pretty straight forward. Heat oil, put tocino in, fry till golden brown.
4. Boiling, put the tocino in a pan, put just enough water to cover the meat halfway.
5. Boil till the water evaporates and toast a little.
6. Serve with hot rice.

 

 Post Script:

Happy Father's Day to my Dad and to all Daddies out there. Thanks Papa, for from your blood, I inherited the skill and love of cooking.

Me and my dad. Awwwww :')