Homemade Pork Tocino Recipe: The Juicy, Sweet Cure for Breakfast Boredom
Get ready to sweeten up your breakfast game with this Filipino pork tocino recipe! Think tender slices of pork marinated in a rich, sweet blend of brown sugar, garlic, and a secret hit of pineapple juice. It’s like candy… but meat! Whether you’re a tocino newbie or a seasoned pro, this recipe will have you wondering why you ever settled for store-bought. Just be warned—after this, your friends will expect you to be the tocino dealer at every brunch! It’s sweet, savoury, and worth the wait (I promise, curing time is part of the magic).
Equipment
- Food safe kitchen gloves
- 2 Mixing/prep bowls
- Glass, freezer-proof airtight container (can use plastic container, but it may get stained if you're using red dye)
- Whisk
- Tongs
- Skillet
Ingredients
For The Marinade
- 1 kg pork (butt, shoulder, or belly)
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1½ Tbsp salt
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsps rice vinegar
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
- ½ Tbsp ground black pepper
- 1-3 drops red food colouring (optional)
For Cooking
- 2-3 Tbsps water
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Cure The Pork
- Slice the pork as thinly as you can, into ¼ inch pieces. Place pork into a prep bowl and set aside.
- Finely chop garlic. Set aside.
- Put on food safe kitchen gloves.
- In another bowl, combine all ingredients for the marinade except for the pork.
- Using a whisk, mix until all ingredients until well combined.
- Add the pork into the mixture.
- Using your gloved hands to avoid stains, mix and massage the mixture into the pork. Do this until well combined.
- Transfer everything into your freezer-proof airtight container.
- Place the container in the fridge.
- Allow to cure for 24 hours or up to 3 days. Note: Marinade can be frozen afterwards, for longer storage if desired.
Cooking The Tocino
- Remove the tocino from the fridge and let it stand at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes.
- Place a skillet on the stove over a low to medium heat. Note: Don’t use high heat as it will burn the sugars from the mixture.
- Once heated, place the tocino in the pan.
- Add water. Ensure that there is enough water to cover all the tocino.
- Braise the tocino, stirring every 3-5 minutes for about 10 minutes, or until the water evaporates.
- Add the oil.
- Continue to cook for another 5-8 minutes, or until the sugars begin to caramelise.
- Don’t leave the tocino unattended, and stir constantly to prevent the sugars from burning. Note: Lower the heat on the stove as required to prevent it from burning.
- Once the tocino caramelises, remove from the heat.
Serve and Enjoy!
- Serve with steamed jasmine rice or garlic rice, eggs and pickled veggies.
Notes
- Pork: You can you use any cut of pork that you like such as butt or shoulder. I like to use belly. Pork belly's fat content and marbling makes this protein tender and succulent, especially when braised.
- Pineapple juice helps to tenderize the pork, as it contains enzymes that works to soften proteins and enables meat to absorb flavours. But if you don't have pineapple juice, you can use apple juice instead.
- Traditionally, tocino is known for its bright red colour. However, you can do without the red food colouring. If you decide to use food colouring, start off with one to two drops and adjust to your desired intensity. Also, the depth of colour will depend on the type of food colouring you use. Gel food colouring is thicker and more concentrated than your regular liquid food colouring. Therefore, you would use less gel food colouring than liquid food colouring.