If you’re living far from the province from way up north and you’re craving one of their unique dishes such as the Bagnet (Ilocano Crispy Pork Belly), fear not, because you can actually do this at home!
Let your family and close friends taste the goodness of the bagnet by cooking this recipe for them. You can learn the recipe now by reading the recipe article below. Along with the recipe are some trivia and some tips to help you cook the bagnet the right way.
What is Bagnet?
Bagnet is a popular Ilocano dish which consists of pork belly that is deep fried until it turns crispy on the outside. The word ‘crispy’ here, when talking about bagnet means verrry crispy. The term bagnet is also known as chicharon in Ilocano, because of its chicharon-like texture.
This dish is also often compared to lechon kawali and crispy pata because of how they are cooked and the way they look. But bagnet has differences when it comes to the cooking method and it is also paired with a unique dip called bagoong monamon.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Pork
For this dish, you are going to need a whole and unsliced pork belly cut or pork belly slab.
Pork Fat Oil
Oil from pork fat is traditionally used to give the bagnet a unique flavor while parboiling. You can also save bacon grease and use it here.
Aromatics
Although not used traditionally, some bagnet recipes today makes use of aromatics like garlic, onion, peppercorn, and bay leaf when parboiling the meat. There is no exact rule here but you can use 1 head garlic, 1 whole onion, and 2 bay leaves for 1 to 1.5 kg (2.2 to 3.3 lbs) of pork belly.
Bagoong Monamon Dip
As for the dip, Ilocanos have this unique sauce called bagoong monamon (derived from fermented anchovies or dilis). As an alternative to this you can create your own vinegar-based dip.
If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
- Cooking Pot- For this dish, we will be using a large cooking pot with a lid. This cooking pot should be large enough to accommodate a slab of pork belly. The cooking process involves parboiling and deep-frying (details below) and we can do both in a the same or separate cooking pots.
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How to Cook Bagnet
The key to mentally prepare yourself for the task is to divide it into two simple processes. The first one you need to think about is parboiling (sangkutsa) the pork belly.
The second one you need to think about is to deep fry the pork belly, twice. Remember that our goal is to have as delicious and crispy as possible bagnet.
When parboiling the pork belly, keep in mind that we’re not doing it so we can eat it after. The goal is to make the pork belly tender–but not to the point where it’s so tender that it is falling off–and to maximize the flavors of the pork meat. So keep an eye on it while boiling.
The traditional way of parboiling bagnet involves water and pork fat oil only. You may opt to add several aromatics like garlic, onions, bay leaves, and peppercorns if you want more flavors.
Double deep frying the pork belly is what makes this dish extra crispy. If you followed the recipe wherein you let the pork belly cool for a bit, be prepared and have a cover ready because the oil has a tendency to splatter all over once you put the pork in the hot oil.
This is a normal reaction of the chilled pork when suddenly transferred into hot temperatures.
Cooking Tips
- It is not required, but it is a necessary step to let the pork belly cool for an hour or two after you boil it. This will result in a crispier pork belly.
- If you want to, you can cut the pieces before deep frying. This can make the cooking time faster and you’re sure that the insides are evenly cooked. Just cut them as how you would when you’re about to serve it.
- Make sure that you have enough oil to completely submerge the pork belly, so feel free to add more if you feel like it’s lacking in oil. But if that’s not possible, be sure to turn the pork belly to cook every side of it evenly.
How to Serve Bagnet
Bagnet is best eaten with hot white rice together with the dip of your choice (bagoong monamon or vinegar dip). You can pair it also with a vegetable dish like pinakbet.
How to Store Bagnet
If you want to make bagnet in advance or if you are preparing a large batch, you have the option to freeze the parboiled meat. Simply allow the pork belly to cool completely then transfer to a freezer-safe container or pouch.
When ready to cook, you can even fry the frozen bagnet straight from the freezer.
Other Filipino Pork Recipes
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Authentic Bagnet Recipe
Equipment
- Cooking Pot with lid
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) whole pork belly
- 1/2 cup pork fat oil, or bacon grease/ fat
- 1.5 l water, for boiling
- bagoong monamon, for dipping
- 3 cups cooking oil, for deep-frying (enough to cover meat)
Instructions
- In a deep cooking pot, pour in water and bring to a boil.
- Pour in the pork fat oil (you may add aromatics at this point, see notes above).
- Add in the pork belly then cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours.
- Transfer the pork belly to a plate. Let it cool.
- Tap with paper towel to dry the outer parts.
- In a deep cooking pot, pour in and heat oil over medium to high heat.
- Add in the pork belly. Deep fry until golden brown and crispy. Add in a splatter guard while frying as the oil tends to splatter.
- Remove from the cooking pot and allow to cool.
- Heat up the oil again then fry the pork until blisters on the skin are visible.
- Transfer the pork belly to a serving plate or serving tray and dry with paper towels.
- Slice the pork belly into serving pieces and partner with bagoong monamon. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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This is not bagnet but lechon kawali. Bagnet is cooked differently.
Thank you for letting us know, the article and recipe has been updated 🙂