Homemade Pork Tocino Recipe
Tocino is a cured meat product native to the Philippines. It is usually made out of pork and is similar to ham and bacon although beef is also used. It is often reddish in color and has a sweetish taste. Its name is derived from the Spanish word tocino, which is used to describe bacon or cured meat.
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Pork Tocino or simply tocino is a cured meat product native to the Philippines. It is usually made out of pork and is similar to ham and bacon although beef and chicken can sometimes be used as alternatives. It is often reddish in color and has a sweet savory taste. Pork Tocino was said to be named after the same Spanish word “tocino”, which is used to describe cured meats.
Pork Tocino is usually eaten during breakfast along with warm rice. Tosilog is a popular meal comprised of garlic rice (or sinangag), fried pork tocino, and a piece of fried sunny side up egg. Pork tocino has been a famous Filipino “anytime” food because it is available almost in every grocery stores and can be consumed anytime of the day.
Pork Tocino got its reddish color artificially. A red food coloring is needed to make your own homemade tocino to make it look more appetizing. Of course, the food coloring is just optional because it does not affect the taste of the meat. I usually cure my tocino in the fridge for at least 3 days for best results. I also freeze my cured tocino for a week before cooking. I am not recommending you guys to do the same because 24 is just enough for curing — I think that I just want my homemade pork tocino to get cured longer.
One word of advice though, even how good cured meat tastes, moderate consumption is still recommended. Too much intake can still affect our health in the long run. It is best to have pork tocino at least once or twice per month. By the way, it tastes best when dipped in spicy vinegar.
Let me tell where I bought some of the ingredients, since it can be quite a challenge to get these ingredients if you are outside of the Philippines. I got the Prague powder (also known as curing salt) online from a website called myspiceage.com. I also ordered the sodium phosphate online from americanspice.com. The annissette liquer was purchased from a local wine store, while the rest of the ingredients came from the local grocery store. Making your own homemade tocino is really easy, as long as you have all the ingredients in hand.
Good luck everyone and let me know if you have questions. You can reach me by emailing or by following our Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest accounts (@panlasangpinoy).
Try this Pork Tocino Recipe and let me know what you think.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag us on Instagram at @panlasangpinoy or hashtag #panlasangpinoy so we can see your creations!
Homemade Pork Tocino Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. pork ham
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Prague powder #1
- 3/4 cups granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon sodium phosphate
- 1/4 cup anisette liquer
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 1/4 cup crushed garlic
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Vitamin C powder
- Red food coloring
Instructions
- Slice the pork ham to about ¼ inch thickness
- Dissolve the sodium phosphate in 5 tablespoons of water.
- Except for the meat, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well
- Apply the combined mixture to the meat by rubbing. Make sure that the mixture is evenly distributed across the meat
- Place the mixed ingredients in a covered container
- Store the covered container (with meat and mixture) in room temperature for 14 hours. It may also be refrigerated but would take at least 3.5 days to complete.
Nutrition Information
Now that you have you have made your own homemade pork tocino, all you need to do is cook it. I cook my tocino by boiling it with 2 cups water and 1/4 cup cooking oil. The meat gets tender as the water starts to boil. After quite a while, the water evaporates and the cooking oil will be left. This will instantly fry the meat. Make sure to turn the meat over after a few minutes of frying to cook the opposite side of the tocino. Doing this will give you a tender and delicious pork tocino that is cooked just about right.
carldeguzman says
more powers to panlasangpinoy.com more pilipino will surely proud of you.
pet luh says
What’s the ascorbic acid for?
ellen says
hi, where can i buy meat processing seasonings, like, phosephate, vitamin c, etc. thank you
dambina says
Im not familiar with the ing, and i dont know where to buy it too. Your prog. helps me a lot cooking delicious food for my family and friends.Thank you so much.
letswok says
Do I still need phosphate if I plan to cook it very soon (not preserving it for later).
Mimi says
Is it really necessary to use Phosphate and prague when cooking tocino? Aren’t these engridients carcinogenic?
bing says
you may omit prague and phosphate when cooking tocino. I’ve tried it and the taste is still the same. if you are using too much of the ingredients it may be carcinogenic
rochelle says
hello wanna help you in making tocino,, just use pineapple juice and a little salt plus sugar tpos ihalo lhat s meat then u just need to dissolve them evenly by ur hand,,using also food coloring ,,,red one,,that’s it,next tym give ko s inyo ang measurement ng ingredients,,kc my husband is making tocino as our business here in abroad
candy says
rochele, can you send me the measurement of the ingredients of your tocino? please, please i really need it because we don’t have the salitre or prague powder here in KSA. My family love tocino whether chicken or beef..that’s all we have here in KSA po…Thank you in advance fr your help. God Bless
Ailynne PeBenito says
Hello Vanjo,
I make tocino at home but since I cook them right away I only use sugar & salt. Have you tried that without the other ingredients.
Just wondering
thanks,
Ailynne
Mimi says
you are right Ailyn, it’s better to use natural ingredients,much safer and better taste as well!
luv to cook says
it true there is a lot of chemicals on this recipe nitrite is the bad one that’s why there is a lot of cancer in the united states than any where else in the world.
mArEL says
how long will the finished product last?..will it last for several months if packed in bags?.is it possible to know the expiry date for this?
joy says
pls write the common name of the ingredients and the ingredients are hard to find. is there any option about the ingredients to replace.
jade bienvenu says
its not that hard to find. u can find it at grocery stores like sm or robinsons. you can ask for assistance if ever u dont know where to find those ingredients.
jade bienvenu says
oh wait where u from? if ur fron philippines. then u can find it at the grocery stores mentioned.
jelai25 says
I like this Tocina,, but I’m not familiar with the recipe…
Gemini Girl says
Thanks for the info. Im going to try this recipe.
john says
i cant understand what is the ingredients
araceli moises says
i really want to try this, i am truly thankful sa inyo dahil d kau nagdadamot ishare ang knowledge nyo sa cooking.thank you.SAn nga pala video nito parekoy?
narita says
do chicken meat can be a replacement in pork? isnt the ingredients are the same? i cant cooked pork in my work(israel). but wat i hav learned from this cooking videos i cooked with my employer n she loved the taste (more on chicken recipes)!
happy_pinoy says
Yes! chicken can be used, I perfer it cause of the fact it has less fat on the meat. Yummy!!!
jen says
look good but the ingredients are hard to find……….
bing says
pls write the common names of ingredients.
Janice says
I’ll have to try this recipe, it looks really good
Manang says
any idea where these ingredients can be bought?
jade bienvenu says
hey, you can find those ingredients at grocery stores. its not hard to find, for sure u can find it at big supermarkets like robinsons or sm. its where i usually buy ing. for tocino…
Jamiena says
phosphate can be found in supermarkets also?