Chicken Tocino

Tocino simply means bacon in Spanish. Typically made from pork belly, this dish is usually served for breakfast or brunch. Filipinos usually accompany tocino with rice and egg called To-Si-Log–Tocino, Sinangag (fried rice) and itlog (egg).  The following recipe is my personal rendition…with an extra twist.

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 lbs organic chicken party wings
  • 1 cup 7-up (or Sprite)
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons ketchup (preferably Banana Ketchup, which can be found in a Filipino/Asian grocery store or online)
  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce (preferably light, if not available put 3 tbsp of water to produce lighter output)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced) or 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 pkg Achuete Annatto Powder (can be found in a Filipino/Asian grocery store or online)
  • 5 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Chicken Tocino
 Direction:

  1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with cover. Make sure that all the meat are covered with the marinade.
  2. Store it in the fridge (preferably the chiller) for at least 2 days to cure the meat properly.
  3. Bake for 45 minutes; and turning over the wings half-way while baking. Then switch the oven to broil and cook for another 15 minutes; and again turning the wings half-way while broiling. What you want is a char-broil, caramelized finish.

Optional…serve with fried rice or boiled rice, tomatoes and egg.  Enjoy!

Grace Notes:
I decided to make a reduction out of the pan dripping from the baked/broiled wings, so in a sauce pan combine the pan dripping, 1 tbsp Sriracha, 1 tbsp Sambal Oelek paste, 1 tbsp ketchup, Arrow Root for thickening, and fresh ground pepper to taste. Cook until thick, about 5 minutes. Pour over chicken tocino or serve separately as condiment.