As a Filipino, growing up, we got used to the common festivities year after year and the food that comes along with it. There are a lot of delicious and seemingly complicated dishes everywhere when it comes to a lot of these gatherings and holidays.
One particular thing that piqued my interest when I was a child is the presence of morcon and embutido in one gathering we attended, and I glanced at them both and I got really confused and mistook one dish from the other.
My curiosity was all over the place and I kept asking the people, “What is the difference between Morcon and Embutido?”
The main difference of the morcon and the embutido is that they largely differ in the way they are prepared and cooked. The embutido is made through steaming or baking, and the morcon is made through braising. Although they look strikingly similar to each other, there are also some differences in the ingredients used between the two. The morcon is usually made in larger amounts and is served during special occasions or large gatherings while the embutido is more flexible and can be served also on special occasions and on a normal weekday or weeknight.
Ingredients Used
Here are the main differences when it comes to the ingredients for the two different dishes. The ingredients used for morcon is traditionally ground beef. And then for the embutido, the common Filipino style is the use of ground pork. The morcon also uses a flour for the breading and is made into a roll with the fillings inside it while the embutido uses egg as the binder for the ingredients used and is then made into a roll usually by wrapping using an aluminum foil.
For more detailed descriptions about the two dishes, here is a brief explanation of what a morcon is and what an embutido is.
Morcon Description
Morcon is a popular Filipino-style dish here all around the country which is traditionally reserved for holidays and special occasions, especially during Christmas season. Compared to its counterpart, it involves more processes which in turn take a little bit more time than the usual cooking and is usually made for a number of people so it’s best served for special occasions and large gatherings.
The morcon is made of beef which are usually the tough and lean ones (these are usually the ones that are cheaper, and is perfect for braising) which is then sauteed at a high heat and is boiled to tenderness afterwards–along with a number of filling ingredients such as hotdogs, sausages, carrots, pickled cucumbers or pickled dills, and some hard-boiled egg. The name morcon comes from the same word of a Spanish origin, and is a type of sausage which is used for stuffing.
Braising
Morcon is prepared through a method of cooking called braising. It is a type of cooking which involves a combination of techniques, namely the cooking in dry heat and cooking in wet heat. The dish is cooked by letting it sit over high heat in a cooking pan, and is then finished with a covered pot simmering in boiling liquid, with some additional ingredients for an extra flavor for the dish.
Embutido Description
Embutido, on the other hand, is a meatloaf popularized by the Filipino people which is a mixture of a number of different ingredients, but still complement each other in one flavorful and indulging dish. These ingredients commonly include ground pork, carrots, raisins mixed with eggs, and breadcrumbs.
Unlike its more extravagant and a little bit more complicated counterpart, this is a perfect dish for busy weekdays and weeknights since you can prepare this in one day and if you still have leftovers, you can still reheat and it will still be as good as fresh.
Although it is something you can prepare alone, it is also a perfect gift or a great dish during special occasions since it is not one to get spoiled easily, and you can also easily make these for a large number of people.
The very first Filipino-style embutido can be traced as far as when the country was still under the heavy influence of Spain during the Spanish colonization. Due to this, different kinds of sausages were introduced to us. These include the chorizo, longaniza, morcon, and embutido. The dish was changed up and modified throughout the times and has evolved to what we have now.
Steaming
Embutido is traditionally prepared and cooked through the process of steaming the meatloaf mixture. Steaming is a cooking method which involves cooking the food with moist hot air. It can be done nowadays specifically with a food steamer, or it can be done manually in a large and heavy-bottomed skillet or wok.
It is considered a “healthier” type of cooking since most of the natural flavor and nutrients of the food are retained in the process.
How to Prepare?
Now that you know the main differences between the two kinds of dishes which are similar looking, but different in a number of ways, it is only expected to get curious and maybe to get even hungry to an extent when reading about these two delicious meat rolls.
If you want to try out these dishes for an upcoming large gathering or special occasion, or you simply want to try them out for yourself because you want a deeper understanding of the dishes for some reason, we can help you since we have some easy recipes we can share with you.
Here is the easy recipe for the Morcon and here is the easy recipe for the Embutido. You may also want to try Chicken Embutido here.
Pin this recipe on Pinterest!
Thank you and I hope you find this article useful! It’ll mean a lot if you SHARE THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS! 🙂
They are actually very easy to distinguish. from each other. Embutido is made using ground pork as the main ingredient formed into log and traditionally wrapped in caul fat/lace fat (sinsal in Filipino) and steamed but nowadays embutido is wrapped in aluminum foil and either steamed or baked. Embutido is light in color. One the other hand, morcon is made from sheet of meat, either using flank steak but usually using a beef bottom round roast and cut to make a flat sheet of meat which is then marinated in a combination of soy sauce and lemon juice plus spices and seasoning that you want. After marinating longitudinally cut i gradients like sausages, carrots, hardboiled eggs, pickles, etc are place on the sheet of meat and rolled up, basically making a beef roulade, and secured with kitchen twine. This is then braised on the marinade and tomato sauce until tender. There is just no way that either can be mistaken for each other. Although the Spanish sausage called morcon is made from lean ground meat Filipino morcon is a beef roulade made from sheet of beef. It hS evolved to a point that it is completely different the Spanish sausage called morcon.