Crispy Pata Recipe

Crispy Pata is a famous Filipino dish consisting of deep fried uncut pork leg. The "pata" or leg is made tender by boiling in water with some spices, deep-fried until becomes very crunchy. It is best served with a soy-vinegar dip and many Filipinos love it with lots of onions and garlic.

It is also one of the famous dishes served in many restaurants in the Philippines. People love it as a compliment to alcoholic drinks especially cold beer. Although it is very very high in cholesterol, it is honestly irresistible and tempting. This is a must-try!

The procedure looks simple but it includes some risky steps. So, you guys need to be very careful. If there's a will, there's a way! Lol. Deep frying a whole leg, with lots of oil is a little risky. But don't worry, you just need extra caution and I assure you, it's worth it. You'll be happy like a kid eating his favorite ice cream while eating this crunchy, mouthwatering and luscious dish.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 whole pig’s leg, about 2 kilos, cleaned and knuckles removed
- 1 can soda (Sprite or 7Up, 12 oz size)
- 7 pieces dried bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons whole peppercorn
- 6 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 10 to 12 cups water
- 12 cups cooking oil


COOKING PROCEDURES:

1. Clean the pork by removing all hair by scraping the skin with a knife. Wash thoroughly.
2. Pour water in a cooking pot then let boil.
3. Put-in dried bay leaves, whole peppercorn and salt.
4. Add the whole leg then simmer until the leg becomes tender (about 45 to 60 minutes)
5. Remove the pata from the pot, hang and allow it to dry until the temperature goes down. (Others usually hang it for 24 hours. Some just thoroughly drain the pork and refrigerate for a few hours.) My technique is, I just let the temperature goes down and fry it in low heat until it becomes very crispy.
6. Before pouring in the oil, rub the leg first with all in one seasoning granules, ground pepper and salt.
7. Heat a clean large pot with cover and pour-in cooking oil.
8. Deep fry the rubbed pork leg in low heat. Continue cooking until one side becomes crispy, and then flip it to crisp the other side of the leg. Please be careful while doing this step.


FOR THE DIP SAUCE:

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