Crispy Pata is definitely one to be included in the talks of the town when it comes to modern Filipino cuisine.
It is one dish that’s very popular and you can find commonly all around the country, especially in restaurants serving Filipino food. Whether it is just a local restaurant or a high end restaurant, or a restobar, there’s a high chance that they serve this addictive crispy dish.
In this article, we will help you learn some next level cooking. And you know you’re going to be proud once you’ve made such a feat! If you’re one who’s aspiring to become good at cooking, this is a perfect one to make.
Impress your family and friends on a special occasion, a night bonding coupled with wine or beer, or even just a happy weekend, with your own crispy pata. Continue to read below to learn more tips and tricks, and some trivia about this savory dish.
What is Crispy Pata?
Crispy pata, from the word itself, is basically a pork leg which is made to be extra crispy, partnered with a sauce based on soy sauce and vinegar. This is achieved by deep-frying the pork leg so that the skin would be crispy.
This dish was said to have been invented just quite recently (70s) by a certain restaurant in Manila called Barrio Fiesta. No disputes were made so this might be true.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Pork Leg (Pork Hock)
In choosing a pork leg, you have two options: one is the front leg, the other is the hind leg. The hind leg is the more preferable choice since–well–it is the literal pata and it is larger and thus, has more meat. The front leg is a much smaller choice and has more fat also.
Clear Soda
Consider this a secret ingredient to make our crispy pata extra special. We will be using a clear soda or a lime-flavored soda. Popular brands would be Sprite or 7-Up.
Aside from these, we will also be using other regular pantry ingredients like onion, garlic, laurel leaves, salt, black pepper, vinegar, and cooking oil. If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
- Cooking Pot (Kaldero)- In the first of the cooking process, you will be boiling the pork leg in water. You will need a cooking pot or a casserole deep enough to cover the pork leg. When cooking pot is the right size for deep frying the pork leg, you can use the same pot as well.
- Freezer- You need to freeze the pork leg after boiling so make sure that you have space in your freezer for this.
- Deep Fryer (Optional)- If you have an electric deep fryer at home and it fits the pork leg, go ahead and use it.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How to Cook Crispy Pata
Cooking Crispy Pata might not be as easy as other popular dishes, but this one definitely gives you a rewarding feeling when you do it successfully.
So to make things a little less confusing, we are going to break down the process in three main parts. One is boiling the pork leg, second is freezing, and then last is deep-frying the pork leg. Once that’s done, you have a super crispy pork leg.
Boiling
First step, we are going to boil the pork leg. Just make sure that the pork leg is fully submerged in water and add the necessary ingredients to bring out the flavor of the pork.
The goal of this process is to make the pork tender but not to the point where it easily breaks down. So keep an eye on it from time to time while boiling.
Freezing
The next step is to freeze the pork leg. After drying the pork leg from the boiling session that we did, place the pork leg in the refrigerator uncovered.
It is recommended to keep it chill as long as possible so the best choice to leave it overnight. But if time is of the essence, at least a couple of hours would do. The goal of freezing the pork leg is to make it extra crispy once we fry it.
In case you want to freeze then cook later on, wrap the pork leg in aluminum foil and its good to freeze for months.
Deep Frying
The last process is to deep fry the pork. Remember that once the pork is submerged in the hot oil, it will start to splatter, so be sure to cover it, or if you have a splatter guard available with you, it’s best to use it. A deep casserole is also recommended to lessen the chance of splattering outside the pot.
Medium to high heat will be applied while frying. If you have a thermometer, the temperature of the oil should be at 176 C or 350 F.
Oven-baked Crispy Pata
Yes, you saw it right, cooking crispy pata can be done using the oven. It is a safer choice especially at home when cooking since you won’t worry about splatters when deep-frying, at the expense of a longer period of cooking.
The procedure is still the same, only instead of deep-frying, we are going to bake it at a high temperature of 220 C (430 F) for about 30 minutes, until the skin is golden brown and blistered.
Cooking Tips
- You may need some extra cleaning of the pork leg before boiling it. A good hack when getting rid of the hair is to torch it.
- When you need to hasten the drying process after boiling, you can use the cold setting of a hairdryer to dry the skin.
- After frying, you can place the crispy pata in a wire rack to allow the excess oil to drip. Allow to rest before chopping so that the juices will redistribute.
- Avoid frying too long so that the meat won’t dry out.
Secret to Crispy Skin
To ensure a crispy crackling skin once fried, you need to loosen up the raw skin first. There are several ways to do this like scorching, pricking, and applying natural chemicals like acid, alkaline or alcohol.
In this recipe, we will be applying acid to the skin in form of vinegar. Before frying, we will rub vinegar all over the skin and allow it to rest and absorb.
How To Serve Crispy Pata
Crispy pata is best served freshly cooked since the crispy skin tends to get soggy over time. It is normally eaten with freshly cooked white rice during lunch or dinner. You can pair this with soup or with a side dish like atsara or pickles.
There is also a vinegar based dipping sauce that perfectly matches this dish. We also included its recipe here.
How to Store and Reheat Crispy Pata
In case you have leftovers, transfer to a clean food container with lid. You can refrigerate this for up to 3 days.
The best way to reheat this and somehow restore the crispy skin is to use a conventional oven. Preheat the oven to 205 C or 400 F the heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
Other Pork Recipes
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Easy Crispy Pata (With Dip) Recipe
Equipment
- Cooking Pot (Kaldero)
- Freezer
- Deep Frying Pan
Ingredients
For the Crispy Pata
- 1 whole pork leg (hock), cleaned
- 1 pc onion, chopped
- 1 head garlic, minced
- 4 pcs bay leaves (laurel leaves)
- 2 tbsp peppercorn
- 3 tbsp salt
- ¼ cup vinegar
- 1 bottle (250 ml) clear soda
- 6 cups water
- salt, to taste
- 5 cups cooking oil, for deep frying
For the Dipping Sauce
- ¾ cup vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 pcs shallot or red onion, chopped
- 2 pcs siling labuyo, minced
- ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
For the Crispy Pata
- In a large cooking pot, pour-in water and apply low to medium heat. Bring to a boil.
- Add-in the cleaned pork leg, chopped onion, minced garlic, bay leaves, 3 tablespoons of salt, peppercorn, and pour-in the clear soda. Let it simmer for 50 to 80 minutes or until tender but still intact.
- Drain the liquid from the pot, leaving the pork leg. Then transfer to a rack and allow to dry. You can use paper towels to dry the pork leg faster.
- Store the pork leg in a refrigerator. Let it freeze for at least 5 hours or overnight.
- Rub the vinegar all over the skin of the pork leg and season with salt. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
- In a large cooking pot, pour-in and heat the oil in medium to high heat.
- Add-in the pork leg. Cover the pot until the splatter subsides a little. Deep-fry while turning the pork leg every now and then(if not completely submerged in oil) for 15 to 30 minutes or until the pork leg is crispy and a golden color is achieved.
- Drain the excess oil and transfer the pork leg onto a rack. Dry with paper towels.
- Transfer to a serving plate or a serving tray. Serve with the dipping sauce and enjoy!
For the Dipping Sauce
- Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well-incorporated. Adjust the amount of ingredients as needed.
Notes
Nutrition
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