Lechon sa Hurno (Oven Roasted Pork) with Lechon Sauce (Roast Pork Sauce)

Lechon (whole roast pig) is a staple to any FIlipino gathering. Rarely can you find a huge gathering without this dish. A whole pig is usually "skewered" using a long, whole trunk of bamboo that is big and strong enough to hold an entire pig then roasted over open fire for hours while constantly turning the whole pig to ensure that it is cooked evenly and prevent overcooking/burning one side. The whole pig is roasted until the skin becomes crispy. Traditionally, the pig is stuffed with a mixture of lemon grass and tamarind leaves and the outside is basted with a mixture of oil and atsuete (annatto) to give it its golden color. This dish is served with lechon sauce and eaten with rice. Leftovers, if any, is then cooked in a dish called lechon paksiw (roast pork stewed in vinegar) which taste just as good as the lechon.

I remember back when I was young, lechon making is a whole-morning affair which starts in the wee hours - I'd say around 3 in the morning where butchers come and kill the pig. The pig is then cleaned, stuffed, skewered, and then roasted. This preparation is necessary so that the roast pork will be ready to serve by lunch time. The cooking process is a treat in itself because it is exciting to see a pale, whole pig turn into golden color. A nice lechon should have a nice balance between the fat content and meat. A lot of people actually prefer the crispy skin over the meat but I think the meat taste better. I can only eat a small amount of the skin whereas I can eat a whole lot of the meat (hehehe). The most popular parts are the ears and the tail because they are really crispy and crunchy...yummmmmyyy...


Since it is impossible to cook a whole pig in an oven, The next best thing is lechon sa hurno (Oven roasted pork). Actually, I take that back, it is possible to roast a whole piglet in the oven which is another Filipino delicacy known as lechon de leche but finding a whole piglet here in the States is near impossible. Anyways, in lechon sa hurno, pork (usually pork belly with ribs) is roasted in the oven for an hour or more depending on the size, basted with a mixture of annatto and oil until the skin turn golden and crispy. You also have to make sure that the flesh is cooked through. Generally, I would cook a 2 1/2 lb pork belly for an hour and a half at 350F then bump up the heat to 400 to 450F for 20 to 30 minutes until the skin is crispy.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs pork belly with ribs
3 stalks of lemon grass
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
sea salt, to taste

basting sauce:

1/2 oil
1 1/2 Tbsp annatto extract

1. Mix ingredients for basting sauce and set aside.
2. Make shallow diagonal cuts on the pork belly skin. Sprinkle salt all over the pork.
3. Line the bottom of your oven with aluminum foil. Note: This will save you the work of having to clean your oven when you are done cooking.
4. Cover a large baking pan with several layers of aluminum foil (Again, to save you from having to scrub it later) then add enough water so that it comes up halfway. Place onions, lemon grass, and garlic.
5. Place the baking pan at the aluminum foil-lined bottom of your oven.
6. Preheat oven to 350F for 15 minutes.
7. With the oven rack in the middle, place the slab of pork directly to it and over the baking pan. NOTE: The baking pan will catch any dripping and the water in the pan will help keep your pork moist while it is cooking. Be careful though not to burn yourself when placing the pork on the oven rack.
8. Baste pork with the oil-annatto mixture every 20-30 minutes. Cook pork for about 1 1/2 hours.
9. At teh end of the 1 1/2 hours, turn up the heat to 400F to 450F to help crisp up the skin. Cook for about 20-30 minutes or until skin is crispy.



Lechon Sauce (Oven Roasted Pork Sauce)
adapted from The Philippine Cookbook by Reynaldo Aguinaldo

Ingredients:

1/2 pound pork liver
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup bread crumbs
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Puree liver in a blender or food processor.
2. Heat pot over medium heat, add oil then saute onion and garlic until transluscent and fragrant but be careful not to burn.
3. Add pureed liver and saute until it turn slightly brownish in color then add the rest of the ingredients.
4. Simmer mixture for about 15 to 20 minutes then transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Let it cool before serving.



Alternatively, you can purchase a ready made lechon sauce which is often marketted as sarsa ng lechon (Lechon Sauce). The best brand, in my opinion and by far the most popular, is Sarsa ni Mang Tomas which is readily available at most Filipino markets.

Char Siu (Chinese Pork BBQ)

I love char siu, also known as Chinese pork barbeque, but the problem is I can't seem to find good Chinese resto that sells a good one nearby. Most of the ones that are sold at the restaurants are either too dry or taste like cardboard, not good at all. Most of the time, I have to drive all the way to Chitown in order to get good ones but that is usally a major trip for me as I always get lost coming back from there so I try to avoid going to that place if I am driving by myself. Speaking of which, I once went there and had the hardest time trying to get out. It took me around 45 minutes or more to finally find my way out. Hahaha! I have been know to get confused with direction but 45 minutes is a little extreme even for me since LA Chitown isn't that big.


Anyways, I stumbled upon Bee's (of Rasa Malaysia) blog one day and found a char siu recipe. The recipe seem simple enough so I searched for similar recipes and was surprised that there was a bunch of them out there on the web. In one of those searches, I stumbled into another blog that has an interesting way of cooking char siu. The blog belongs to Jessica (of Su Good Eats). She hanged the meat inside the oven and cooked it that way. She called it ghetto Chinatown style which really cracked me up. I adapted my recipe from both Jaden's and Jessica's but adjusted it to my own liking. I have made this twice in two weeks already. This last one turned out better than the first one because I added less red food coloring. The first one, although it tasted really good, looked atrocious because of the all-too red appearance. Hahaha.


There are two ways which I was able to avoid meat from drying out, namely: Adding water "bath" at the bottom of the oven and basting half way through the roasting process. While it seems like an additional work but it will help keep your meat moist. If you have leftovers, you can wrap it in foil and place in the refrigerator. When you are ready to eat it, you can slice them and microwave for a minute or until warm. The meat stayed moist for me which was really great. You have to keep in mind though that the kind of meat that you use will also determine whether it will dry out once cooked. I try to buy meat that has a little bit of fat which is another great way to prevent the dish from drying out. If you choose a meat that's very lean, there is a great tendency that it will dry out while being roasted even if you baste and add the water "bath". One more thing, make sure that the end of the meat does not touch the water bath.

Ingredients:
2 Lbs pork butt (cut into 2 inch diameter X 4 inch length)

Marinade:
4 Tbsp honey
2 1/2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sherry
1/4 tsp white pepper
few drops of red food coloring (optional)
1/2 tsp five spice
1/2 tsp sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced

To marinate:

1. Place pork in a non-metal container with lid.
2. Combine all ingredients for marinade and mix well to make sure that everything is incorporated.
3. Pour mixture over pork and make sure that all pieces are coated well.
4. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate for 5 or more hours turning meat half way through the marinating process.

To cook:

1. Place oven racks on the top most level.
2. Line bottom of the oven with aluminum foil. NOTE: this is such a lifesaver because it will catch any drippings that goes outside of the baking pan.
3. Line a large sheet pan with several layers of aluminum foil and place at the bottom of the oven. NOTE: lining it with several layers of aluminum foil will save you the hassle of having to scrub you sheet baking pans later.
4. Add about 2 to 3 cups of water to the sheet pan then preheat oven to 350F.
5. Meanwhile, make a hole on one end of each of the pork slices and attach either a drapery hook or meat hook to the end.
6. Once oven has reached the desired temperature, attach the hooks to the racks and roast meat by hanging it over the sheet pan. Reserve the marinade for basting. Roast for about 30 minutes.


7. Remove meat slices and baste with reserve marinade.
8. Return meat slices to oven and roast for another 30 minutes.
9. At the end of the second 30 minutes, remove from oven and brush each pieves with honey.
10. Return to oven and cook for another 5 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and let it cool a little bit before slicing and serving.