Want to serve something festive to your loved ones? Try out this meatloaf dish called the Hardinera by reading this recipe article below! Don’t miss out on the tips to make the best hardinera and some trivia along the way.
What is Hardinera?
Hardinera or Lucban Hardinera (because it originated from Lucban, Quezon), is a type of a steamed meatloaf dish here in the Philippines.
This is typically served during fiestas, which is why it has that festive presentation. The meatloaf dish is made of pork cut into cubes, partnered with tomato sauce or tomato paste and ketchup, which is cooked first, and then steamed afterwards.
Common garnishes used are bell peppers, hard-boiled eggs, pineapples. You can also often see bell peppers, carrots, raisins, sausages in the mix.
Embutido Vs Hardinera
It is without a doubt that the Embutido is a famous dish. So from time to time it gets confused with other similar looking dishes, particularly the Morcon, and this one, the Hardinera.
One notable difference of the two is the embutido uses ground meat as the main ingredient and is steamed, after arranging it in the aluminum foil. Hardinera uses diced pork as the main ingredient and is also cooked similar to a menudo, before proceeding to the steaming part.
The embutido looks simpler in presentation, because it is a simply a mixture of ingredients which is made into a roll. The hardinera on the other hand looks much more festive because of the garnishes with intricate looking cuts such as the pineapple florets.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Pork
In this dish, we will be using the pork butt cut, sliced into cubes, as well as cubed pork luncheon meat.
Garnish
Hardinera is quite decorative and you can get creative with pineapples, carrots, hard boiled eggs, and bell peppers to decorate or garnish it.
Aside from these, we will also be using other regular pantry ingredients like onion, garlic, tomato paste, tomato ketchup, pickles, raisins, cheese, salt, and black pepper. If you are filling up your pantry, here’s a handy shopping guide:
Equipment You’ll Need
Hardinera is a two-part cooking dish and you will also need 2 cooking equipment:
- Cooking Pot- You will need a cooking pot or a deep casserole to cook the meat mixture in the first part of the process.
- Steamer- The 2nd part 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.
In need of kitchen tools and equipment? Read this before you buy:
How to Make Hardinera
There are tons of ways you can prepare the Hardinera, as said by many people, even from the place where this originated—Quezon. But don’t worry about all that, this recipe will give you straightforward steps which will yield you a successful hardinera.
Cooking The Meat Mixture
For this recipe just prepare a large and deep cooking pot wherein you let the oil in over medium heat.
The first thing to do is to saute the garlic and onions until they get soft and have that presentable aroma. We are going to do this cooking as straightforward as possible so toss in the meat and add in tomato paste and tomato ketchup, along with water and some salt and pepper.
When the pork mixture gets tender, add in the other ingredients like luncheon meat, pineapples, bell peppers, sweet pickle relish, raisins, cheese, and continue to cook until the sauce has already reduced and is thick enough.
You can try to adjust the taste by adding more water if the flavors are too strong for you.
Steaming The Meat Loaf
Let the meat cool down after that and then arrange the garnish in a llanera, then put the pork mixture into it, making sure that there are little to almost no gaps, and then steam!
In about 30 minutes, the hardinera will be ready, and you have the options to serve it warm or cold.
Cooking Tips
- Don’t forget to grease the llaneras you use with butter and line with wax paper or banana leaves. This will make your life a lot easier because you can remove the meat easily with that after steaming. One good thing about it also is the scent from the banana leaves will give that nice signature feel for the hardinera.
- Before mixing the beaten eggs with the meat, it is a good idea to let the meat cool down first because when the temperature of the meat is still too hot, the eggs won’t be able to mix and bind completely with the meat mixture. So you need to have a couple of extra minutes or an hour when preparing this dish.
How to Serve Hardinera
Since hardinera is quite complicated to prepare, it is usually reserved for special occassions like festivals, weddings, holidays, and the likes. It can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature and is usually paired with freshly cooked white rice.
How to Store and Reheat Hardinera
If you have leftovers, transfer into a food container with lid and refrigerate or freeze. Refrigerating will extend its shelf life to 3 days and freezing up until 2 months.
To reheat (thaw first if frozen), use a microwave oven or re-steam until desired temperature.
Other Festive Recipes
For a quick reference about this recipe, see the recipe table below:
Hardinera (Lucban Meatloaf) Recipe
Equipment
- Cooking Pot
- Steamer
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) pork butt, cut into cubes
- 1 pc medium-sized onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¾ cup tomato ketchup
- 2 cups water
- 1 can luncheon meat, diced
- 1 pc large red bell pepper
- 1 cup pineapple tidbits
- ¼ cup sweet pickle relish
- 2 tbsp raisins
- ½ cup cheese, shredded
- 4 pcs egg, beaten
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Garnish Ingredients:
- 4 pcs sliced pineapples
- 1 pc small-sized carrot, cut into flowers
- 2 pcs egg, hard-boiled, cut into half
- 1 pc small-sized green bell pepper, cut into strips
Instructions
- In a deep cooking pot, pour in and heat the cooking oil over medium heat.
- Add in the garlic and onion. Saute until soft and aromatic.
- Add in the pork cubes, tomato ketchup, tomato paste, water, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 40 to 60 minutes or until meat is tender.
- Remove cover but continue to cook until the sauce thickens. Add in the luncheon meat, red bell pepper, pineapple tidbits, sweet pickle relish, raisins, cheese, and salt.
- Cook until the sauce is almost completely absorbed. Transfer to a large bowl and let the meat cool down.
- Add in the beaten eggs and mix until well-incorporated.
- Prepare the llaneras and grease with melted butter and line with a banana leaf or a wax paper and top/arrange the garnish ingredients.
- Scoop the pork mixture into the llanera, making sure that it is filled nicely.
- Cover the llaneras with the aluminum foil. Transfer to a steamer and steam for 30 to 40 minutes or until the pork mixture is set.
- Let it cool for 10 minutes and then transfer to a serving tray or serving plate by placing the llanera top-side down. Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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