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Crispy pata is a Filipino dish made from pan-fried pork knuckles that are boiled in water with spices until tender, cooled, and then fried until the skin is crispy. The cooking process involves some dangerous techniques, and it is traditionally served with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, vinegar, and hot peppers.
Crispy pata is a Filipino dish that is essentially pan-fried pork knuckles, though it involves cooking more than just the knuckles. The whole hind leg of a pig is boiled in water with some spices until tender. The meat is then cooled completely and fried until the skin is very crispy. The seemingly simple cooking process, however, is loaded with some techniques that could ultimately prove to be very dangerous. Traditionally, the thigh, or pata, is served with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce and vinegar with some hot peppers thrown into the fire.
The first step in making crispy pata is to boil the whole leg of the pork in water. The water is usually spiced with salt, peppercorns, an onion and bay leaves. Other additions to the boiling liquid are fish sauce for relish, garlic, and sometimes star anise.
Two other ingredients can be added to the water to help tenderize the meat. The first is baking soda. The second less traditional tender is soda. Adding soda makes the meat tougher due to the high acidity of the liquid and at the same time provides flavor in the form of sugars in the drink. However, there is no real reason to add any tenderizers to the water other than to reduce the boiling time of the meat.
Once the crispy pata has been boiled, it is left to cool completely. This can be done by draining and then refrigerating the leg, or the leg can be left to sit overnight. A third method involves freezing the leg, promoting the formation of water crystals within the flesh and skin. These methods allow the gelatin inside the leg to cool and cool, preventing it from leaching into the frying oil and making the meat tough. The cooling time also gives the skin time to lose the water absorbed during boiling, helping the crispy pata develop the dry, crusty skin.
The dried and cooled leg is finally deep fried. This is a dangerous procedure which can be further complicated by the cooling method used. The cartilage and other structures inside the pork leg leach liquid into the oil which will cause it to splash; this is inevitable. If the leg is frozen, as some recipes call for, the splatter from the hot oil will be completely uncontrollable and potentially dangerous. It’s best to use a pot with a lid to fry the crispy pata or do the cooking outdoors.
Once the skin is crispy, the crispy pata can be removed from the oil, drained, and is ready to serve. It’s traditional to make a dipping sauce with soy sauce, vinegar, onions, chili, and garlic, although almost any vinegar-based sauce can be used. The leg can be carved before serving or can be presented whole for guests to carve out.
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