Embutido or Filipino meatloaf is a well-known dish in the Philippines and you can easily see these available everywhere. The unique trait of this dish is you can eat it whether it’s cold, or it’s hot, or it’s just warm. This is why it is a perfect dish for any occasion.
You can even make one as a gift to other people as it’s easily transportable and can last longer than other regular meals.
In this recipe article, you will learn how to make this easy pork embutido recipe! You can now add a variety to simple dishes you can make regularly with very minimal effort. You can also add in some other special ingredients if you want to be a little extra for a special occasion.
Read on to learn about some trivia and tips for the pork embutido.
What is Embutido?
Embutido is a meatloaf popularized by the Filipino people which boasts a jambalaya of different ingredients, but complement each other in one flavorful dish. These ingredients typically include ground pork, carrots, raisins mixed with eggs, and breadcrumbs.
The very first Filipino-style embutido can be traced as far as when the country was still under the heavy influence of Spain. Due to this, different kinds of sausages were introduced to us. These include the chorizo, longaniza, and embutido. The dish was changed up throughout the times and has evolved to what we have now.
In case you’re confusing embutido with morcon, here’s an article that explains the two: Morcon Vs Embutido
Ingredients You’ll Need
Ground Pork
We will be using available ground pork in the market for this pork embutido. If you are not into pork, you could also try our chicken embutido recipe.
Pickles
We will be using bottled sweet pickle relish for this recipe. You could always replace this with crushed pineapples.
Tomato Sauce
If you are looking for a substitute for tomato sauce, try tomato ketchup or banana ketchup.
Common but optional ingredients
If you’re preparing for a special occasion and you want your embutido to be more festive. These are common ingredients which you can add to the embutido recipe.
You can add hotdogs or vienna sausages, hard-boiled eggs, and sliced cheddar cheese. All you have to do is once you flatten the meatloaf, arrange these additional ingredients in the center and then proceed to roll.
Aside from these, we will also be using other regular pantry ingredients like onion, garlic, carrot, eggs, salt, black pepper, breadcrumbs, and bell peppers. If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
- Steamer- Embutido is cooked by steaming and to do this, you will be needing a steaming pot. Rice cookers today usually have a steamer attachment, you could use this also. Check if your rice cooker has one.
- Frying Pan (optional)- A frying pan is optional but I added it here anyway in case you want your embutido tostado or toasted. You simply slice the embutido and pan fry it with little oil to brown the sides and release more flavors.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How to Make Embutido
Making embutido is a really easy task. If this is your first time making this, you won’t even break a sweat because you’ll likely be successful without much effort.
Let’s break down the tasks for a more streamlined process of making this dish. The first one you have to do is to make the mixture of the wet ingredients, and then make another mixture for the dry ingredients. The next part is to prepare making a meatloaf out of the mixtures. And then the last step would be to steam them.
The first thing you have to do is to make a mixture for the wet ingredients. This is a straightforward task. For the eggs, you just have to beat them and make sure it has a foamy texture. Just whisk the eggs until you get a slightly firm peak. And then add-in the other needed ingredients.
For the dry ingredients, it’s just a matter of putting all of said ingredients into a bowl and gently mixing them until all of them are evenly distributed in the bowl. And then slowly incorporate the egg mixture into this meat mixture while stirring.
The amount of seasoning you need to do is entirely up to you. If you want to adjust the taste, you can test it out by frying a small portion of it and taste that, then adjust the seasoning accordingly.
Next step is to transform the mixture into a cylinder-shaped meatloaf. Make sure the size of your aluminum foil is spacious enough when you flatten the mixture. A good thing to remember is you must leave a space on each side (about 1 to 2 inches) so we can easily lock the embutido in the aluminum foil.
Last step is to steam the embutido. This will take quite a while so make sure you have the time if you’re planning to serve it as early as possible. It’s acceptable to use high heat when steaming the meatloaf if you want to steam it for a shorter period of time.
It can be served immediately once it cools down a bit. But if you want to reserve it for other days, you can store it in the refrigerator and it will still remain delicious.
Cooking Tips
- Before adding-in the onions, a good practice would be to brown it first. This will caramelize the onion and release more flavors and natural sweetness.
- When adding ingredients with juices like pickles or pineapples, make sure you completely drain them because extra moisture will affect the cooking of your embutido.
- After cooking, let the embutido rest inside the aluminum foil before opening, this will redistribute the juices.
- In case you want to fry it, make sure it is completely cool first so that it won’t fall apart.
How To Serve Embutido
Pork Embutido is usually served with freshly cooked white rice for lunch or dinner. But you can also have this for snack by adding this to your sandwich or pandesal. When it comes to the dipping sauce, you can pair it with tomato or banana ketchup and sweet chili sauce.
You also have the option to eat the embutido freshly steamed or pan-fried. See notes above for some more tips regarding this.
How To Store and Reheat Embutido
As mentioned above, another advantage of this food is the shelf life. We cook embutido in such a way that we can easily store it for later. Store it the refrigerator and you can save it for severals days, you just simple reheat it. Store it in the freezer and you can save it for several months. You just have to thaw the embutido before reheating it.
We have several options when it comes to reheating, we can use the steamer again, or the oven, or the most common method, pan frying it.
Other Festive Recipes
- Simple Filipino Chicken Macaroni Salad Recipe
- Hardinera (Lucban Meatloaf) Recipe
- Lechon Pork Belly Recipe
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Easy Pork Embutido Recipe
Equipment
- Steaming Pot
- Frying Pan optional
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) ground pork
- 2 cups breadcrumbs
- 2 pcs egg
- 1 pc carrot, minced
- 1 pc onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pc red bell pepper, minced
- 1 pc green bell pepper, minced
- 1 cup raisin
- ½ cup pickle relish
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, crack open the eggs and beat them using a fork or a whisk.
- Add-in the bread crumbs. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl, add-in the ground pork, minced carrots, minced onions, bell peppers, raisins, pickle relish, tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper as needed and mix well.
- Pour-in the egg mixture into the meat mixture. Stir until the the two mixtures are well-incorporated
- Transfer the mixture on an aluminum foil and flatten it. Repeat the process for the rest of the mixture if there is excess.
- Roll the aluminum foil into a cylinder. Then twist the excess space on both edges to lock the foil.
- Prepare the steamer by boiling the water
- Transfer into a steamer. Let it cook for 40 to 60 minutes.
- Let it cool. Once it’s ready, transfer to a serving plate or serving tray. Serve and enjoy or store for later!
Notes
Nutrition
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