Crispy Pata

 

Crispy Pata

Have you tried crispy pata or fried pig knuckles?  The above crispy pata is from our favorite restobar, Sit-n-Bull.  The first time I tasted crispy Pata was from a Barrio Fiesta, about 30 years ago. Even then, I knew it was sinful to eat it with its fat, ligaments and wow, crispy skin!  I learned how to cook it too, with turbo broiler, thinking it's not as sinful as deep frying it.  It still is, of course.

Sinful pleasure, but why not indulge once in a while?

Here's a recipe (http://www.filipinofoodrecipes.net/crispy_pata.htm)

Crispy Pata Ingredients:

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  1 Pata (front or hind leg of a pig including the knuckles)
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  1 bottle of soda (7Up or sprite)
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  1 tablespoon of salt
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  2 tablespoons patis (fish sauce)
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  1/2 tablespoon baking soda
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  1 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG)
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  4 tablespoons of flour
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  Enough oil for deep frying
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  Enough water for boiling

Crispy Pata Cooking Instructions:

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  Clean the pork pata by removing all hairs and by scraping the skin with a knife. Wash thoroughly.
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  Make four to five inch cuts on the sides of the pata.
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  On a deep stock pot, place the pata in water with soda and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the baking soda and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
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  Remove the pata from the pot and hang and allow to drip dry for 24 hours. An alternative to this is to thoroughly drain the pork pata and refrigerate for a few hours.
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  After the above process, rub patis on the pata and sprinkle flour liberally.
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  In a deep frying pot, heat cooking oil and deep fry the pork pata until golden brown.

Crispy Pata Dip Sauce:

Mix 3/4 cup of vinegar, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 head of diced onion and 1 hot pepper. Salt and pepper to taste.