Embutido

You can find a recipe for this Philippine embutido here. Some differences between that recipe and mine: I use ground pork (more traditional, though you can substitute chicken or even turkey if you want), mine has no flour — I used to add bread crumbs as additional binder but with this one I used a smaller amount of eggs and no breadcrumbs (hubby’s allergies). Instead I added a bit of cornstarch, not traditional at all but it served my purpose. Not too much though, just enough to add body to the pork loaf when cooked. I also stopped putting cheese in mine, because of hubby’s allergies. I do add pimiento-stuffed green olives to the mixture, and my eggs are not pre-sliced.

I started out with about 3 pounds of pork, and just added stuff, adjusting amounts and seasonings as I went along. (I think I wrote it down somewhere, but my picture file is overflowing right now, so I’m starting out with pics.) The pork is mixed with everything else in a large pot/bowl, then formed into rounded loaves by stuffing into muslin cases such as you see here (sewed up by my very capable 15-yo) or, more recently, in aluminum foil. The rolls are then steamed or baked (I prefer steaming), cooled (or chilled) then sliced. What’s great about it is you can serve it hot, warm, at room temperature, or cold; it’s that versatile. You can also slice and pan-fry to get the outer surfaces of each slice just caramelized and crisp! Karen and I had a recent discussion as to when leaf lard/sinsal was used. My mom insists she used it for embutido and not morcon, I was sure she was doing the opposite, Karen said the sinsal was for both! Unfortunately, no sinsal here unless I go to a specialty butcher, and I didn’t have time for that when I made this.

My embutido was prepared for the party we had on the 23rd; I made it ahead of time, steamed it and froze it. The day of the party we thawed it and sliced it into 1/2-3/4-inch slices, then served it on a bed of sauteed tomatoes and red peppers. That part’s not traditional either, it’s usually served with ketchup or some other red sauce derived from the steaming juices. I thought the additional vegetables would be good for kids and provide a festive backdrop to the pork loaf slices. Though there wasn’t time to do snappies at serving time. I should have thought of that and done a photo shoot the day before.