Tocino

Tocino is a very popular cured meat in the Philippines as well as other Spanish colonized countries such as Cuba and Puerto Rico. Tocino came from the same Spanish word which means “bacon”.

Tocino

Tocino is a very popular cured meat in the Philippines as well as other Spanish colonized countries such as Cuba and Puerto Rico. Tocino came from the same Spanish word which means “bacon”. To prepare this meat traditionally tender cut of meats is sliced into thin strips then cured in a mixture of anise wine, annatto, water, salt and lots of sugar. Usually left in a room temperature for an hour then followed by 3 days of refrigeration to cure. Once the curing process is done the meat is then boiled in small amounts of water until it evaporates then oil is added and finished off by frying it quickly to prevent burning of the sugar.

This dish is typically consumed at breakfast together with fried rice and fried eggs or Salted Duck Eggs with Tomatoes and the whole meal is now called “tocilog”.

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Tocino 3

Tocino

  • Author: Raymund
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 mins
  • Total Time: 45 mins
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Filipino

Description

Tocino is a very popular cured meat in the Philippines as well as other Spanish colonized countries such as Cuba and Puerto Rico. Tocino came from the same Spanish word which means “bacon”.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 kg pork loin, sliced in 1/4 in thick cuts
  • 3 tbsp anise wine
  • 3 tbsp annatto powder
  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • oil

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients in a shallow bowl except for the pork.
  2. Sprinkle the mixture into the pork pieces.
  3. Leave in a covered container in room temperature for 1 hour
  4. Place the container in the refrigerator for at least 3 days.
  5. In a heavy pan add enough water to cover half of the pork pieces, bring to a boil then turn once. Once water has evaporated add a small amount of oil and quickly fry pork pieces until sugar has caramelized.

Notes

If you can’t find anise wine then the best substitute is mixing 2 tsp of anise powder and 2 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine together

 

Tocino Wide

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16 Responses

  1. Hi Raymund, another beautiful dish and I can only imagine how beautiful and tender the meat is too. It looks so simple and yet, so comforting!

  2. JKh LFr says:

    I’m definitely making this…. i’m so excited… wish me luck

  3. Beautifull color from the anatto!
    i guess it must be finger licking good!

  4. Michelle says:

    How interesting! (In a good way.)

  5. Tessa says:

    Looks delicious Raymund! I’ve never heard of anise wine before. Sounds like I have a new ingredient that I must try!

  6. I can see why this is one of your top posts. Looks delicious!

  7. OMG that is pure sexiness on a plate.

  8. mjskit says:

    What a very interesting dish! You’re talking to a pork lover here so you’ve definitely caught my attention with this dish. You say anise wine – I have Sambuca which is an anise liquor. Would that work?

  9. Alex says:

    In Portugal we call it “toucinho”. Yum yum yummmmmmm!

  10. Sync says:

    Hi Raymund! Where do you buy anise wine?

    • Raymund says:

      In Philippines its called anisado and its available in some palenke and grocery, overseas you can get them in liquor shops just ask for the anisette liquor. If you still cant find it you can make your own by using rice wine mixed with ground star anise seed. I added a note on the recipe on this substitute

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