There are a lot of ways on how to make tocino and this post will share with you three ways of preparing it. A lot of Filipinos love tocino and you can make a small business out of this.
Although tocino is a popular dish here in the Philippines, it is actually a Spanish word which means bacon or cured meat. It is often eaten as a complete dish with garlic rice and fried eggs called “Tosilog” or “tocino, sinangag and itlog.” Pork is often used to make tocino but others also use chicken to make one.
How to make Tocino Method 1
Ingredients
| Pork (lomo, pigue or kasim) | – 1 kilo |
| Salt | – 2 tablespoons |
| Curing salt | – 1/2 teaspoon |
| Sugar | – 12 tablespoons |
| Phosphate (dissolved in 1/4 cup water) | – 1 teaspoon |
| Anisado wine | – 2 tablespoons |
| Pineapple juice | – 2 tablespoons |
| Crushed garlic (garlic powder) | – 2 tablespoons |
| Vitamin C powder | – 1/4 teaspoon |
| Food color, red (optional) | |
| Vetsin (optional) | – 1/2 teaspoon |
Procedure
- Select and buy quality pork meat.
- Slice the pork meat 1/4 in. in thickness.
- Weigh the meat slices and the prepare the curing ingredients per kilogram of meat.
- Mix the pork meat with salt, curing salt, Vitamin C (dissolved in 1/4 cup of water), and phosphate.
- Add the extenders and the mix very well until dry.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and then mix again.
- Let it cure at room temperature for about 8 to 10 hours or in a refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.
- Pack the tocino in polyethylene plastic bags in 1/4 or 1/2 kg. packages. Remove the trapped air inside the bag and then seal immediately.
- Store the tocino in the freezer.
If you need to prepare more, just add the exact amount of ingredients for every kilo of tocino. For example you need 2 kilos, just double all the ingredients.
reference: www.dti.gov.ph
How to Make Tocino Method 2
Ingredients
| Tender pork pigue “pork ham” (thinly sliced) | – 1 kilo |
| Prague powder or sodium nitrite | – 1/4 teaspoon |
| soy sauce | – 1 tablespoon |
| Citric acid or Vitamin C | – 500 milligrams |
| red food coloring powder | – 1/4 teaspoon |
| water | – 1/2 cup |
| white sugar | – 1/2 cup |
Procedure
- Heat an equal amount of water and sugar to form simple syrup as a base for your curing solution. Mix thoroughly and set aside to cool down to room temperature.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the solution on the meat and mix it thoroughly until all the pieces are fully covered.
- Place in a container and let it cure for at least 2 days in the refrigerator before cooking. Turn and mix meat at least 2 times a day to enhance the curing process.
Cooking Procedure
Prepare the following ingredients:
| Sliced Onions | – 2 medium sized |
| Garlic (crushed) | – 5 cloves |
| Vegetable Oil | – 2 tablespoons |
| Ground Black Pepper (optional) | – 1/2 teaspoon |
| pinch of MSG (optional) |
- Saute garlic until it becomes light brown.
- Add tocino and pour in enough water to cover the meat.
- Place the lid and braise until all the liquid evaporates/
- Add the onion slices and let it cook until the sugar in the tocino caramelizes.
- Serve with garlic fried rice and sunny side up egg.
Video
reference: YouTube Channel – ChefBitoy
How to Make Tocino Method 3
Ingredients
| SYRUP | |
| Sugar | – 1/2 cup |
| Pineapple Juice | – 1/2 cup |
| MARINATED PORK | |
| Pork (sliced thinly) | – 1 kilo |
| Sugar | – 1/4 cup |
| Rice Wine | – 2 tablespoons |
| Fine Salt | – 1 tablespoon |
| Ground Pepper | – 2 teaspoons |
Note: You can use anisado wine, cooking wine, or white wine if rice wine is not available.
Procedure
- Start making the syrup by mixing the sugar and pineapple juice in a saucepan. Let it boil for a few minutes. Then close the lid and let it cool.
- Mix the pork slices with the cooked syrup, sugar, fine salt, ground pepper, and the rice wine. Mix everything well until the meat absorbs all the ingredients.
- Place in a container then let it cure in a refrigerator for at least 2 days before cooking.
Cooking Procedure
- Heat oil in a frying pan.
- Place tocino on the pan until brown and sugar in tocino caramelizes.
Video
reference: YouTube Channel – cheddar58
Tocino Cooking Methods
There are three ways to cook tocino and they are:
1. Boiling
2. Frying
3. Grilling
Among the three, grilling is the healthiest type as it reduces the fat and oil in the tocino.
Here’s a video showing all three cooking methods:
reference: YouTube channel – easypinoyfood
Investment Requirements, Costing and Pricing
If you’re ready to start a tocino small business venture, here are suggested investments, costing and pricing that you can follow.
*Costs are based on July 2007 market prices. Reference – www.dti.gov.ph
Investment Requirements
| Utensils | Cost |
| Measuring cup / spoon for solid & liquid (plastic or stainless steel) | – P152.50 |
| Spatula | – P62.50 |
| Kitchen Knife | – P67.00 |
| Knife Sharpener | – P61.25 |
| Kitchen Spoon | – P76.25 |
| Ladle | – P52.00 |
| Tong | – P305.00 |
| Stainless bowl 32 in. | – P305.00 |
| Rectangular tray (plastic or aluminum) | – P305.00 |
| SUB TOTAL | – P1,172.75 |
| Equipment and Sources | Cost |
| Weighing scale for spices (0-5 kilograms) | – P335.75 |
| Weighing scale for meat (1-10 kilograms) | – P685.50 |
| 11 cu. ft. refrigerator (can cure 40 kilos of meat) | – P35,065.75 |
| Polysealer (for sealing plastic bags) | – P1,753.25 |
| Styrofoam cooler (for transport of meat products) | – P305.00 |
| SUB TOTAL | – P38,145.25 |
*ingredients below are based on the How to Make Tocino Method 1
| Ingredients | Unit | Cost |
| Pork (lomo, pigue or kasim) | 1 kilo | P165.17 |
| Salt | 2 tablespoons | P0.77 |
| Curing Salt | 1/2 teaspoon | P0.15 |
| Sugar | 12 tablespoons | P6.86 |
| Phosphate (dissolved in 1/4 cup water) | 1 teaspoon | P0.54 |
| Anisado Wine | 2 tablespoons | P2.58 |
| Pineapple Juice | 2 tablespoons | P0.77 |
| Crushed Garlic (garlic powder) | 2 tablespoons | P3.81 |
| Vitamin C powder | 1/4 teaspoon | P0.54 |
| SUB TOTAL | P181.17 |
| Packaging Material | Cost |
| Polyethylene Plastic Bag (6” x 12”) for 1/2 kilo of meat product | – P1.50 |
Costing and Pricing
Direct Cost
| Particulars | Cost |
| Raw Material (1 kilo pork meat) | – P165.17 |
| Ingredients used for 1 kilo | – P16.00 |
| Packaging Material | – P1.50 |
| TOTAL DIRECT COST | – P182.67 |
Indirect Cost
| Particulars | Cost |
| Labor Cost (P350/day min. wage / 70 kilos produced x 2 workers) |
– P10.00 |
| Transportation cost (150 / 70 kilos) | – P2.14 |
| Water and Electricity (P220 consumption / 70 kilos) |
– P3.14 |
| Contingency cost (10% of direct cost) | – P18.27 |
| TOTAL INDIRECT COST | – P33.55 |
*Based on 70 kilos average produce. After adding all ingredients to the 1 kilo meat, the product should weigh around 1.5 kilos.
| Particulars | Cost |
| Total Direct Cost | – P182.67 |
| Total Indirect Cost | – P33.55 |
| Total over the 1.5 kilos yield | – P216.22 / 1.5 kilos |
| PRODUCTION COST PER KILO | – P144.15 |
Product Pricing
| Particulars | Cost |
| Production cost per kilo | – P144.15 |
| 15%-20% markup of the production cost | – P28.83 |
| Selling Price per kilogram | – P172.98 |
| Market Price per kilogram | – P180.00 |
The higher the volume of production per day (more than 70 kgs.), the lower the production cost, thus increasing the markup value to more than 50%.
If price per kg. is lower compared with the existing market price, increase the markup value to 50% or more.
References:
ChefBitoy YouTube Channel
cheddar58 YouTube Channel
easypinoyfood YouTube Channel
Go to the small business ideas page for more business ideas.
Jack is a self-made entrepreneur, who actually started out in the Military, then worked for the Government for a few years, until he finally made that bold step and started out his own online and offline businesses. He’s never looked back ever since, and hasn’t been happier…
