I love the sour tocino which usually uses buffalo/carabao meat. The other more popular fare is the sweet tocino. I wanted to make the sour one for my own sheer bliss but two things stopped me. First, carabao meat is so hard to find. Second, I'll be the only one enjoying it because it's an acquired taste. Oh well. Having made about three kilos of sweetened pork tocino for a weekend Filipino breakfast for guests that never materialized, I've gone crazy pairing it off with vegetables and soups. Tocino for the next couple of weeks, done!
Ingredients:
- 3 kilos pork butt/shoulder/kasim (sliced about 1/4 inch, against the grain)
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 tbsp rock salt
- 3 tbsp powdered black pepper
- 500 ml unsweetened pineapple juice
- 5 tbsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp seasoning granules (optional)
- 1 tbsp prague powder/pink powder/salitre (optional) OR 1 tbsp vitamin c powder
- red food color OR concentrated asuete water
Procedure:
- Combine all ingredients except for the baking powder. Mix thoroughly until well combined.
- Set aside covered at room temperature for 24 hours.
- Add baking soda after 24 hours and thoroughly incorporate into the meat.
- Set aside for 12 hours.
- Pack and freeze until ready to cook.
- To cook, spread tocino slices flat on a frying pan, Add a tbsp of water and let boil until water runs dry. pour cooking oil and continue to cook until tocino slices are caramelized.
- Serve with spiced vinegar on the side.