Pata hamonado recipe
Serve while still hot and with heaps of steaming white rice. Be careful about eating too much, though.
Servings 5 people
Cost $10
Ingredients
- 1 large ham hock (Pata) about 1.25 kilograms or 2.75 lbs
- 1 small pineapple properly washed, peeled and sliced crosswise
- 1 liter pineapple syrup extracted from boiling the peel
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar or to taste
- 2 medium “calamansi” or 1 lime or ½ lemon juice extracted
- 5 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tsp whole peppercorn
- 2 small bay leaves
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- Additionally, several cups of pork or chicken broth are also needed.
Instructions
- Marinate the whole pork hock with a mixture of the “calamansi” juice and 1/6 cup or ½ of the 1/3 cup soy sauce for at least an hour.
- Flip the meat over several times for uniform infusion of marinade.
- (If No Pineapple Juice) Boil the peel and eye cuttings to further extract some pineapple syrup, about ½ liter
- In a large wok or pan, heat the oil on high flame and sear the marinated “pata” on all sides until lightly browned. Worry not if some surface cannot be seared. It’s still fine. But be careful not to overdo it.
- Using a heavy bottomed casserole, arrange the “pata” at the middle along with the pineapple, reserving 2 slices for garnish later.
- Add in garlic, peppercorn, bay leaves and brown sugar.
- Pour the remaining marinade, pineapple syrup, balance soy sauce and about 2 cups broth. Cook on high heat until boiling.
- Adjust the heat to the lowest setting possible with the liquid barely boiling.
- Be ready to simmer for several hours or until the meat is very tender.
- Turn the meat over from time to time for even cooking.
- Add additional broth or hot water as necessary, 1 cup at a time.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings if still needed
- Towards the end, cut the bulky meat into two large pieces so that it could be properly submerged in the thickening sauce.
- When the meat is very tender and sauce is reduced to a thick consistency, place the reserved slices of pineapple on top of the meat and cook for several minutes more or until the pineapple is cooked through but not mushy.
- Transfer the glazed pork on a large platter, pour the rich sauce and garnish with the pineapple slices.
- Served with hot steamed rice
