The first time I ever tried Tocino was at a resort in the Philippines. I tried it and fell in love with it as I asked my wife, "What is this?". It was like a wonderful cross between bacon and pork burnt ends with a bit of a garlic kick. (The Philippine people are huuuge lovers of garlic, whole peppercorns and cane vinegar). Tocino (Spanish for bacon/sweet red cured pork, depending where you are) is popular in the Philippines and Caribbean.
Fast forward to today. Bacon does not have its same appeal as it once did and also trying to watch a bit of the sodium content. Breakfast sausage for whatever reason just does not sit quite right in the gut neither. So a few weeks ago I was trimming out a Pork Shoulder for another recipe. I had a significant amount of scraps left and had the idea to just make a run at Tocino. In the future I'm going to try using a pork belly and thick cut it like bacon. The benefit I find is that it is not as salty and you can use alternate sweeteners if your not yet tolerant to sugar yet. Ultimately I find it enjoyable, lean for pork, goes down and rests in the stomach easy.
There are a lot of recipes online reflecting some ingredients not easy to fine (Prague #1 powder which is pink curing salt, Sodium Phosphate, Anisette Liquer, Vitamin C powder, Atsuete Powder, Banana Ketchup -delish) I found this Filipina's recipe and altered it just a little to suit my needs. and It passes my wife test as it she says it tastes like Tocino she used to get in Manila. Tocino Recipe (Sweet Cured Pork) Typically it is served with garlic fried rice (simple: used last nights rice, add the amount of minced garlic you want and stir fry with a bit of oil) and an egg sunny side up and a few veggies. Alternative for me is fresh sliced tomatoes and cucumber (or peeled zucchini dipped in garlic vinegar since People toss them in my car when I stop and I have no idea how to get rid of them)
CALORIES: 257KCAL
CARBOHYDRATES: 30G
PROTEIN: 19G
FAT: 7G
SATURATED FAT: 2G
CHOLESTEROL: 62MG
SODIUM: 1990MG
POTASSIUM: 383MG
FIBER: 1G
SUGAR: 28G
VITAMIN C: 2.2MG
CALCIUM: 41MG
IRON: 1.5MG
2 pounds pork (butt, shoulder, ham or belly) - cut into ¼ inch thin
¾ cup brown sugar (Aguave nectar, honey, coconut or palm sugar, in same amount for dry, 3/4 cup to every 1 cup if liquid))
1 ½ tablespoons salt
3 cloves garlic - finely minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or cane vinegar its a bit more mellow than white vinegar but white can also be used
¼ cup fruit juice, (pineapple, apple) (optional)
½ tablespoons finely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon rice flour (optional)
natural red food color (optional)
Directions:
-In a big bowl, combine all ingredients except for the pork slices. Mix until well blended.
-Add the pork and mix using the hand, use hand gloves to avoid stains. Mix for several minutes to an hour.
-Transfer to a container with a cover and let it sit overnight on the counter. (I prefer to keep mine in the fridge 3-4 days)
-Mix again for a couple of times before putting in the fridge. Cure for 24 hours or up to 3 days. Can be frozen afterwards and stored longer.
Cooking: The idea is not to fry but to cook slow without burning to maximize the tenderness.
Stovetop
lace in nonstick pan at low heat to allow the any fat to slowly render, flip at after about 15min. Check at 30 min for doneness, should be very tender. Drizzle with olive oil if looking dry on the outside. Grill- 3-5 min each side
Oven:I find the oven is a bit difficult. 350f for 30-40 min. Flip halfway through and if browning before temp is reached, cover with foil. Internal meat temp reached 145f is done. flip and cover with foil.
Smoker: 225 for approx 3 hours, spritz with juice to keep moist and pull off as it appears done. This is how my last batch turned out.
