Imagine how happy and surprised I was when last week I did our weekly grocery and I saw the pork hocks/legs, totally surprised because I shopped in an American market and rarely you will see this kind of meat cut! Usually I prepare Crispy Pata when I go once a month to the Filipino store/market in Tukwila(Seafood city) where I get other Filipino products (magnolia quickmelt cheese,nagaraya,chippy,ug uban pa) and produce ( like ampalaya,japanese eggplant). Once in a while I do crave Filipino comfort food and once I do, nothing can stop me! So this morning I was not sure what to do with the “pata”, maybe patatim or crispy pata! We had humba ( braised pork in pineapple juice) last week so I wasn’t really up for that savory sauce this week! Bring on the Crispy Skin!!
Ingredients:
Pork Pata (hocks)
Canola or vegetable oil for deep frying
Onions,black peppercorn,bay leaves,salt
Procedure:
- Rinse hocks and put in a big pot with cold water. The meat should be covered completely with water.
- Bring to a boil, remove any particles/scum that stick to the meat.
- Put chopped Onions, peppercorn, bay leaves and lots of salt! This will flavor the meat while simmering.
- Simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours till tender . On low heat, I did mine for almost 3 hours. But you don’t want to over cook it because you want the whole thing intact!
- Drained meat and put in a colander, let it air dry for 30 minutes. If you’re not in a hurry you can put the meat in the ref or freezer for couple of hours. I did both, after draining I dry it then put it in the ref!
- Prepare your deep fryer or Wok. Heat the oil,deep fry the meat! maybe 10-15 minutes..You gotta be careful coz splattering is inevitable!LOL..that’s why I prefer the fryer! Drain on paper towels! Enjoy the fruits of your labor! lol
