The Beloved Crispy Pata

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THE CRISPINESS OF THE CRISPY PATA

A paper on the popular Filipino dish

By Isabel Mara Delgado

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ding-inkblots/6542574107/



INTRODUCTION

A guilty pleasure for most is the Crispy Pata, a Filipino dish loved for its tender meat and namesake crispy

skin that goes perfectly with a soy-vinegar dip. Although popular as “pulutan”, it is not uncommon to have it

with rice during fiestas or even regular family meals. Indeed one of the great offerings of the Philippines’ local

cuisine!

The dish is prepared by taking a pig’s leg or pata and simmering it in water with spices. Afterwards, it is

rubbed with seasoning to add flavor. Finally, it is deep-fried until the skin achieves that desired crunchy

texture and then served to be eaten to our hearts’ content.

Despite the dish’s popularity, not many know the reasons behind the crispiness of this well-loved Filipino

food. Does the marinade have an effect on the dish other than the flavor? Is it material that the leg part is

used? Why does the skin react differently to deep-frying and roasting (note the difference in the skins of

lechon and crispy pata) when both are dry methods of cooking? Because of these questions that are not

commonly asked yet are without answers, the author takes an in interest in the making of this dish.

The focus of this paper will be on how the skin of the pork becomes tasty, crispy and crunchy . The author

aims to explore the food phenomenon that occurs during deep frying, and perhaps even prior to that,

resulting in the delectable local favorite.

(Photos from facecebu.com and thepinoyexplorer.com)

SENSORY PROPERTIES

The appearance of the crispy pata is vivid in most

people’s minds that it does not take much to conjurea mental image: the golden brown pork knuckles,

hot and fresh from the kitchen complete with

steamed rice and great dipping sauce.

The skin has a crispy texture, the inside meat very

tender. The taste can only be described as a

wonderfully tempting mix of local flavors and spices,

made even more delectable with the usually sweet

and somehow acidic dipping sauce.

(photo belongs to the author)

THE RECIPE: A COOK’S GUIDE



There are many variations to the basic crispy pata recipe with every restaurant or local town having their

own twist or special additions to the dish. For the purposes of this paper though, a simpler recipe from a

Filipino cookery website will be used.

(This recipe is by Celine Clemente of Appetite.ph)

Ingredients:

1 Whole front pork knuckle

½ cup Vinegar

¾ cup Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Black Peppercorn

5 cups Water

5 cloves Garlic

Salt

Bay leaf

4 cups Oil

Procedure:

1 In a large casserole, combine vinegar, soy sauce, water, garlic, peppercornsand bay leaf. Bring to a boil then add salt. Stir to dissolve.

2 Add the pork knuckle or pata. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1.5 hours to 2

hours until pork is fork tender.

3 Drain and let cool. Refrigerate overnight to dry out the skin.

4 To cook, deep fry in a large pot of hot oil, turning once. This may also be

cooked in a turbo broiler until skin is crisp.

5 To make dipping sauce, simply combine all ingredients and serve with

Crispy Pata.

1 Whole Front Pork Knuckle: The most vital part of the crispy pata is a good clean pata! All hairs must beremoved and the skin scraped with a knife. Wash properly.

Vinegar, Soy Sauce, Water, Garlic, Peppercorns, Bay leaf and Salt: This mix of flavors will give the

dish its unique taste! The same mix will be used as dipping sauce, with or without the addition and inclusion

of chosen condiments. Some variations of the recipe include monosodium glutamate, flour, fish sauce, baking

soda, and soda. Others do not use soy sauce.

Cooking Oil: The cooking oil will serve as the heat transfer medium in deep frying.

PREPARATION AND COOKING: WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS

The mixing of the flavorful ingredients in a boiling pan and the submersion of the pork knuckles in it



The ingredients listed are put together in a pan and allowed to boil. The pork knuckles are put in and allowed

to simmer. Unlike some food preparation methods where the meat is marinated overnight, the dish requires

that the knuckles be submerged in the boiling solution and let simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours. Since knuckles are

among the less tender cuts of pork, it is not ideal for dry heat cooking. This step tenderizes the pork while

letting the flavor set in.

Once the pork is tender, the stove is turned off it is allowed to cool. It maybe be simply set aside or

refrigerated, depending on the recipe being followed. Spices such as salt, pepper and garlic powder may be

rubbed on the skin to further improve flavor.

The heating of the cooking oil and the initial processes during deep frying

After the initial boiling and addition of spices, it is time for deep frying. This begins before the pork is even

placed in the cooking utensil. The fat, or cooking oil, is first heated to an ideal temperature. A wise guide to

observe until the oil starts to smoke. By that point, heat is already transferred from the pot to the oil via

conduction – it is ready.

Put in the pork knuckles and notice changes immediately take place. Temperature causes the water present

in the pork quickly vaporizes and rises to the surface. As this happens, the presence of water effective

protects the surface of the food, in this case the pork’s skin, from being overly saturated with cooking oil.

The seeping in of fat as steam continue to escape and the cooking of the inside without fat penetration

As water goes out and coats the knuckles’ surface to some degree, fat gets in through the pores from which

steam escaped. This explains the appearance and texture of the finished product’s skin. It also answers the

earlier inquiry on why the outside of lechon and crispy pata, both prepared through dry heat methods, look

differently.

Eventually you will notice that the amount of steam escaping decreases an indication that the cooking is

nearing finish. By this point, the crust is beginning to brown due to Maillard reaction. The process ends with

the inside of the meat cooking via heat transfer.

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES

The process through which the lowly pork knuckles became the delicious crispy pata involves some

fundamental concepts and principles of cooking. It is necessary to grasp these to fully understand what goes

on behind the oil’s surface.

“Oil and water do not mix.”



Except in cases when an emulsifier is added and a process is done, water and oil simply do not mix. The

repellant nature of water and oil towards each other turns out to be a good thing. In fact, this is not only

desirable but is actually a crucial factor in frying, since it enables the water to protect the submerged food

from absorbing too much oil.

“ At high temperatures, water turns to steam.” “Air is less dense than cooking oil.”

At a certain temperature, more heat stops increasing the temperature and instead converts the phase of

water from liquid to gas. The difference in the densities of oil and air, the latter being less, causes it to rise to

the surface.

“Deep- frying does not mean greasing your food all over.”

Perhaps, the concept of deep-frying is the most important in understanding why the crispy pata is the way it

is. Deep frying is considered a dry-heat preparation method even if the dish is submerged in liquid, since dry-

heat preparation is defined as “… a method of cooking in which heat is transferred by air, radiation, fat, or

metal.” (Brown, 4th ed.)

The process requires two types of heat transfer: conduction and convection. Conduction occurs when heat is

conducted from the source, a gas flame for example, to the pan, then to its contents. Convection then occurs

through the liquid fat that submerges the food to be cooked.

AUTHOR’S PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

My favorite cuisine has always been our country’s own. There is truly something special about Filipino

cuisine, a mix of different tastes and influences, each province having their own dear specialties. Being a self-

declared foodie, learning about food and understanding how it is prepared is something that is relatively new.

I was not born to cook and thus, before the beginning of this course, did not realize what a truly interesting

world existed in the kitchen.

When things started to make sense, when cooking oil wasn’t just oil that jumped out of the pan and at me,

when I knew how it becomes a heat transfer medium and the actual process of deep frying, when I learned

what went on beyond the surface, I appreciated cooking and not just food. Knowing that behind the dish I

chose to tackle is a unique process, every part of which is crucial to ensuring the palatability of the final

product, is liberating for someone who previously just ate food!

More than having an appreciation for Filipino cuisine, I appreciated the Filpino cooks even more! Here we

have chefs with no degrees, those in carinderias, those who cook for fiestas! These people have no more than

their innate talent and penchant for cooking yet they are able to make such dishes, they know how it works,

without even knowing the science behind it. I can only imagine how much better they could be with more

information!



From thinking of a topic to doing research to eating the crispy pata myself in three different restaurants as an

added method for learning, the preparation of this paper actually brought me joy. Indeed, the writing of this

paper is merely a culmination of the entire experience I underwent throughout the course. The whole thing

was pretty great. :)

REFERENCES

Brown, A. Understanding Food: Principles and Preparation 4 th Ed. 2008. University of Hawaii at Monoa.

Accessed 9 May 2012.

Anonymous. “The Filipino Crispy Pata”. PanlasangPinoy.com Accessed 8 May 2012.

Clemente, C. “Recipe for Crispy Pata”. Appetite.ph Accessed 8 May 2012.

The Beloved Crispy Pata

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