See the convection oven/turbo broiler version of the crispy pata recipe.
It’s just deep-fried pork leg, how can that be so hard to cook? Nothing difficult about cooking crispy pata. But one can have good crispy pata or terrible crispy pata. Who wants the latter, right?
Pata is the front or hind leg of the pig. In the Philippines, that means the leg AND the trotters (knuckles). Crispy pata means deep fried pata with a crunchy rind and soft and moist meat inside.
The first thing to remember is that the best pata for this dish is that of a young pig. The more mature the pig, the thicker and tougher the rind. The layer of fat will also be thicker. Second, frying is not the only step in cooking this dish–the pata has to be boiled to tenderness prior to deep-frying. Third, we have to separate the myth from the truth.
According to the oldies, one has to drip-dry the pata after boiling and then allow it to air-dry for a day prior to deep-frying. That’s not true. For as long as you drain, cool and, preferably, chill the boiled pata, there’s no reason why you can’t boil and fry it on the same day. That pata you see in the photo was taken out of the freezer at 5.00 p.m., pressure-cooked without thawing completely, drained and cooled, and fried at 7.30 p.m. We finished dinner about thirty minutes ago.
Ingredients :
1 pork pata (preferably the front), about 700 g. in weight
salt
1 whole garlic
1 whole onion
8 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
3-4 c. of cooking oil
how to :
Clean the pata. Scrape the skin with a knife. Use a kitchen torch or a cigarette lighter to burn any remaining hair. Don’t use a candle–the black smoke will turn the pork rind dark.
Place the pata is a casserole and cover with water. Add the whole garlic, onion, peppercorns and bay leaf. Season with plenty of salt. Set over high heat and bring to a boil, skimming off scum as it rises. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, or until tender. Alternatively, pressure-cook for 30 to 45 minutes from the time the valve starts to turn.
Remove the pata from the broth, draining well. Cool. If you have the time, wrap in foil of cling film and place in the freezer for thirty minutes.
Heat the cooking oil in a wok or deep fryer until it starts to smoke. Gently lower the pata in the hot oil. The oil will spatter, no doubt about that. It is best to immediately cover the wok or fryer. Make sure that the cover has a steam valve to allow the hot steam to escape and to prevent it from condensing back into the oil. Cook the pata until the rind is puffed and golden. My clue is that when the spattering weakens, the pata is ready.
Serve with ensaladang talong (eggplant salad) or atsara (pickled green papaya).
i always cant get the skin to be so puffy,
me too okz. i almost lost a tooth trying to take a bite off my pata. it felt like a piece of stone i can use for the intifada but i will keep trying.
ano sa tagalog yung peppercorn and bay leaf?
O.K. I’ll try that.. my main problem over here at my place is they only sell pork every day only on Sunday in the chinese market..these are just some of those common problems over here… living in a muslim country.. they don’t eat nor promote port at all.. specially this year..”year of the pig” sigh………..
correction.. that’s pork..he,.he.he….sorry about that..
I went to the market this morning and the pata is in the pressure cooker right now … I hope I ll not miss it because it’s my first time
I ll freeze it and fry it tomorrow 
It was a sucess, looks a litle over cook after the boiling, but it went perfectly with the frying that makes it constitent and CRYSPY ! Mission sucessfull
one thing i learned from my late mom was to add 7up or sprite when boiling the pata. she said it helps make the pata more tender!
ilove crispy pata..
peppercorn = pamintang buo.
bay leaf = dahon ng laurel
tama ba?
Yep.
tanong lang Connie, anong mas ginagamit mong bay leaf, yung FRESH or yung DRIED?
hindi lang para sa pata na recipe ha.
di ko sure kasi kung may particular lang bang dish na gamitin ang fresh or ang dried.
Dried, Joey. Hindi kasing aromatic yung fresh.
connie, may i ask kung pwede rin ba yung pata ng beef for crispy pata recipy? thanks
Hindi.
i’ll try this recipe for my mom and dad…. thanks
you are the best connie
crispy pata is so delicious
i will try this receipe
i want to eat crispy pata
hi guys….one tip to share in order to get a real crispy pata….after boiling it and freezing….its best u fry it in a not hot or boiling cooking oil….yup,common mistakes is that we wait till the oil is smoking hot but that will be a disaster
if u want it crispy….frm the freezer….heat the pan without opil yet,then put in the oil and put it directly in the oil and cover it at once in medium heat….wait till u hear popping sound maybe about 5minutes then reduce it to smaller fire…slowly frying it in small fire for next 20minutes then turn the other side….guaranteed crispy and keeping the meat inside tender…try it out to find it urself and give me feedbacks too!
hi Connie,
i know how to cook crispy pata and i got the recipe from Nora Daza’s collection…but your tips are a big help too…thank you!
hi connie, can you prepare/cook crispy pata using turbo broiler? would appreciate your reply. thanks!
http://homecookingrocks.com/oven-roasted-crispy-pata/
hello how do you reheat crispy pata kung take out para malutong pa din at juicy
Hey andrew,answer to your question “how do you reheat crispy pata kung take out para malutong pa din at juicy”
after cooking the crispy pata just let it cool and do not let it be dried by using electric fan or what ever, just room temp. Balutin mo ng manila paper or of kind.
hope you find this as an answer to your question
i think it is really better to use pressure cooker, kasi sa loob ng mas maikling oras, lalambot talaga ng husto ang meat ng pata, tipid pa sa gas… i always use pressure cooker in tendering chicken, super lambot ng chicken meat and then i fry it, super crispy outside..
actually, you dont needs to freeze the pata to make it crispy, even after boiling it and cooking it on hot oil (which will make it crispy on the outside and juicy in the inside) will still be crispy. a tip on to make it puffy and crispy is to prick it with a fork before cooking.
“you dont needs to freeze the pata to make it crispy”
Agree. The freezing part is just old wives’ tale.
@LUZ: Thanks for the cooking tip..! I’m going to try the tip that you shared about making the real CRISPY pata tomorrow coz it’s my Ate Meliza’s birthday.. Promise, I’ll give you feedback….