Crispy Pata (Pork Hock) With No Frying | Oven Baked Crispy Pata

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Crispy Pata is a famous Filipino pork dish which is basically boiled pork (hock with the knuckle) and then fried until the rind is crispy while the meat remains soft and moist.

Initially, the leg is made tender by simmering in water along with some spices.  After which, the leg is deep fried to perfection.

This dish is eaten as a main dish along with a dipping sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and chopped onions. It can also be served as finger food or “pulutan” for beer drinking sessions.  This is why crispy pata is very popular with Filipinos.

Traditionally, when cooking crispy pata, the whole leg is deep fried.  This means that a lot of cooking oil is required.  And I mean a lot!

As an experiment, I decided that I should use less oil (trying to be thrifty) by having the butcher slice up the pork hock into 6 pieces.

During the preparation phase, another thought hit me!  Instead of deep frying, why not oven bake the whole thing?

Any self respecting, pure blooded Filipino loves eating the crispy pata with all that dripping fat.  Think clogged arteries.  But it does not have to be that way all the time.

By employing the oven instead of deep frying, I have reduced the fat that goes with this dish.  Many cooks will get angry with me by doing this.  However, it already sounds healthier by saying it is baked!  Less guilt…

Serve the crispy pata with the dipping sauce as mentioned above together with ensaladang talong (filipino style roasted eggplant salad).  Perfect combination!

The initial step is to simmer the pork hock pieces in water with the salt, garlic, onion, peppercorns and bay leaf until tender.

Then it is followed by baking the pork hock pieces in the oven at 475°F (246°C).

The last step is to broil the pork hock pieces in the oven for around 5 minutes.

Notice the burned spots?  That is the result of placing the pork hock pieces very close to the broiler burner and at the same time by getting distracted with TV, hahaha.  Don’t make the same mistake that I did!

A turbo broiler is also a good option to use and could make the job easier.  It looks like this:

In the Philippines, Imarflex is a popular brand when it comes to turbobroilers.  Below is a good model to have and is available at Lazada:

Ingredients:

• 1 pata (pork hock, sliced into 6 pieces)
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 1 tablespoon peppercorns
• 1 whole garlic
• 1 whole onion
• 1 bay leaf

Ingredients for the dipping sauce:

• 1 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Pour water in a cooking pot, enough to cover the pork, then let boil.
2. Put-in garlic, onion, bay leaf, peppercorns, and salt.
3. Add the pig’s legs pieces in the cooking pot then simmer until the leg becomes tender (about 1 hour).
4. Remove the tender leg pieces from the cooking pot and set aside until the temperature goes down.
5. Preheat oven to475°F (246°C).
6. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
7. To make the rind crispier, switch to broil mode and broil for 5 minutes or until you see the rind getting puffier and crispy looking.
8. Turn-off the heat; remove the crispy pork leg pieces; and transfer it to a wide serving plate.
9. Serve the crispy pata immediately with soy-vinegar sauce for dipping.
10. Share and enjoy!

Instructions for dipping sauce:

Mix all ingredients and serve.

Other recipes may be found HERE.