This Tocino Recipe is the only recipe you need. It taste very similar to store bought, that you can’t tell the difference between them.
For more breakfast recipes:
The day of reckoning is here. Today is my annual health check up. Every single year, I am concern how my lab test turns out, specially my cholesterol level. So every test day, I am apprehensive of the number.
Even though I am a food blogger, I am still mindful of the desserts and the main meal I consume for good health purposes.
There are several Filipino comfort food that I tend to eat once in a while, but Tocino and Longanisa are the ones I can’t spurn. I just love them; specially for breakfast. Even though I am far from an Asian store, I always have frozen tocino stock in the freezer, because I’ve learned how to make them from scratch. I found this Tocino recipe that can rival the store bought ones. In fact, I think this is even better.
WHAT IS TOCINO:
Tocino is a Filipino style bacon mixed with various spices and it taste sweet, spicy and salty at the same time. In the Philippines this is famous for breakfast paired with fried egg and garlic fried rice. This is one of those Filipino comfort food that you must make and try. I usually make a huge batch of this, and freeze them.
INGREDIENT FOR THIS TOCINO RECIPE:
- Pork butt or shoulder
- brown sugar
- salt
- garlic powder
- soy sauce
- pineapple juice
- Annato powder
- Anissette wine
- paprika
HOW TO MAKE TOCINO
Place the meat in a large electric mixing bowl.
Add in the dry ingredients except the Annato powder.
Add the wet ingredients and mix using a stand mixer at low speed until the liquid is totally gone or cut in half, then add the Annato powder. Please see notes.
What Meat Cut to Use
- pork butt sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
- pork shoulder sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
- chicken thigh sliced into bite sized pieces
- beef brisket sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
WHAT KIND OF SALT TO USE:
- I use iodized salt
- Kosher salt
CAN I ADD FOOD COLORING?
You can add a teaspoon of food coloring, but the Annato powder and paprika were just fine.
HOW TO COOK TOCINO?
- Thaw the meat
- We are used of adding water when cooking tocino buy The meat has enough absorbed liquid, so when you start, don’t add the water yet.
- When you notice that there’s not enough water to soften the meat, add 1/4 cup and cook until the meat if soft. When the meat has softened, drain the excess water and add cooking oil to add crispness on all side. Don’t over fry.
TIPS FOR MIXING:
- You can mix by hand but stand up mixer is the best choice. Mixing the meat until the liquid spices is cut in half make the meat very tasty.
- Compared to mixing, marinating the meat is not as tasty compared to mixing the meat by hand or by stand mixer.
HOW TO ADD COLOR TO THE TOCINO?
- paprika
- annato powder
- red food color
HOW MANY MONTHS CAN I FREEZE THIS?
- When sealed properly, you can freeze the meat for as long as 6 months.
CAN I ADD MSG?
- Yes, you can, but MSG is not good for you, so just skip it.
Tocino Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 lbs pork butt or shoulder slice into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon Annato powder
- 1/8 cup Anisette wine
- 1 teaspoon white ground pepper
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 cups pineapple juice
Instructions
Place the meat in a large electric mixing bowl.
- Add in the dry ingredients except the Annato powder.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix at low speed until the liquid is totally gone or cut in half, then add the Annato powder. And continue mixer at the lowest speed. Please see notes.
- Continue mixing until water is gone, or half gone.
- When ready, divide Tocino in a small ziploc and freeze.
- Thaw before cooking.
Notes
- You can use hand to mix, but it is too much work, so use your stand up mixer, using the hook.
- Mix until there's no more water, or half. This will take a long time, maybe more than 1 hour.
- The meat will get tangled in the hook, so watch it. Untangle and mix again at lowest speed.
- It is a must to mix thoroughly, for the marinade to seep through the meat.
- You can use your hand, but it is really tiring.
- You can skip the Annato powder, but I prefer to use it, as it adds more color.
- When cooking, add only the water if you think the original fluid from the meat is not enough to soften it. Add 1/8 cup.
- When the meat has softened and there's too much water, drain it and add in cooking oil to add crisp.
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