Braised Pork Hamonado

Prepared in a braising liquid consisting of brown sugar, pineapple juice, dried chilies, and soy sauce, Filipino-inspired Braised Pork Hamonado is the most satisfying and tasty pork dish. It is sweet, savoury, salty, and spicy, which is everything one could ever want in a pork belly recipe!

One of the most popular dishes at Lord Byron’s Kitchen is my Easy Baked Pork Belly. As much as I love that recipe and would never grow tired of it, I wanted to prepare a new pork belly recipe to show you how versatile and delicious this cut of pork can be! Allow me to introduce you to your newest weakness – Braised Pork Hamonado!

The Filipino-inspired ingredients such as the low-sodium soy sauce mixed with the pineapple juice and brown sugar create the sweet and salt braising liquid that ensures the pork is both flavourful and tender. The saltiness of the soy sauce and the acidity of the pineapple juice not only impart flavour, but also help to draw out some of the fat. Not all of it! Pork belly will have lots of fat left after being cooked, which is exactly the way it should be!

The garlic and the dried red chilies are a great addition to the braising liquid. They not only add a savoury side to the salty, sweet sauce, but also give the sauce savoury components. In the end, all of those simple ingredients come together to create the most tasty, tender, and delicious pork belly dish.

Just in case you’re unfamiliar with pork belly, it does have a lot of fat content. Steak has what we call marbling, which is in its most basic form, fine lines of fat running through the meat that melt during cooking and keep the steak tender and moist. Well, if steak has marbling, then pork belly, in comparison, has layers of fat. But, it’s delicious!

WHAT IS PORK HAMONADO?

Pork hamonado is a Filipino dish prepared with various cuts of pork, but is most commonly seen with pork belly because of the thickness and the fat content in that particular cut of pork. The pork is braised and smothered in rich and thick pineapple juice-based sauce with soy sauce and brown sugar.

The term hamonado comes from the Spanish word jamonado which means like hamon. It is not to be confused with the other food named hamon.  Traditionally, pork hamonado includes marinating the pork overnight but the braising method makes the dish must faster and easier.

Traditionally, hamonado was most often reserved for special occasions like Christmas. The reason for this was because some cuts of pork were not affordable to everyone. Most recently, Braised Pork Hamonado is not reserved for special days and is eaten throughout the year.

WHAT IS PORK BELLY?

Pork belly is an inexpensive, fatty cut of meat from the underside of the pig near the loin. Spareribs also come from this area. When kept whole, the cut looks like a brick of meat with a thick layer of flat running along the top and smaller layers of fat marbled throughout. A whole side of pork belly can weigh close to 12 pounds.

Pork belly can be cooked so many ways, but the most common and most recognizable functionality of pork belly is bacon. The side of pork belly is stripped of its fatty outer layer and then smoked, cured, and sliced thinly. With a good recipe, a smoker, and some patience, you can make your own bacon at home. It seems to be everyone’s go-to breakfast meat.

Pork bellies are more traditionally seen in the cuisines of northern Europe and Asia. It’s traditionally used in cuisines where it plays both a starring role, like in a pork belly bao, and a salty add-on to other dishes, like pancetta.

WHAT PORK BELLY SHOULD I USE?

I’ve seen pork belly in two different formats.  The first, is a solid piece that resembles a package of thick-cut bacon.  It is usually about an inch or an inch and a half thick. It may or may not have the skin still attached and running along the top side of the pork.

The second format looks like extra thick-cut bacon that has been laid flat.  It’s usually found layered on a Styrofoam meat tray. Most packages have four or five slices that are layered in a slightly overlapping fashion. For this particular dish, I bought a solid piece of pork belly – about 2 pounds in total.  The skin was left on the pork belly, but I removed it.  I find that the skin in this type of recipe is just too chewy and almost inedible.

OTTAWA VALLEY MEATS

I found the pork belly you see in the photos at Ottawa Valley Meats. The pork is sourced from local farms dedicated to naturally raising heritage pigs in a free-range environment, these pigs are forest-finished for an undeniably enhanced flavour. Like all of their products, the pork belly is completely antibiotic and hormone-free, and given vegetable feed with no soy products. Each order of pork belly is professionally butchered, quickly flash-frozen and vacuum-packed.

If you are in Ontario, be sure to check out Ottawa Valley Meats. I absolutely love the quality of the beef, as well as the chicken and the seafood too! The prices are very competitive and they deliver right to your door! It’s a great way to stock up, especially with the upcoming colder months when everyone seems to cook heartier meals!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Pork Belly – Buy your own and trim it or have your butcher do it for you. You will need 2 1/2 pounds. Remove and discard the skin. Trim away the top layer of fat, but be sure to leave about 1/4 of an inch behind. Next, cube the meat into large 1 1/2 – 2 inch pieces.
• Garlic – You will need four cloves that have been peeled and finely minced. I know it seems like a lot of garlic, but trust me, it works!
• Low Sodium Soy Sauce – To add flavour while keeping the sodium level lower.
• Water
• Pineapple Juice – Canned pineapple juice is great for this recipe. Also, please see my notes about pineapple juice in the next section.
• Brown Sugar – This is the main part of the sauce. It will add sweetness and will help to caramelize the pork.
• Ground Black Pepper – You will need a heaping teaspoon of this, but you will not need any salt. There is enough salt in the low sodium soy sauce already.
• Dried Red Chilies – These will add just a little bit of heat to the finished dish. If you don’t want any heat at all, leave them out.
• Chives – These are for garnish and for flavour. You can use green onions if you wish.
• Sesame Seeds – For garnish.

HOW TO MAKE BRAISED PORK HAMONADO

This is a really easy recipe, which is the case for most braising-type recipes. For this one, you will want to prepare the braising liquid first. So, in a large bowl, add the garlic, low-sodium soy sauce, water, pineapple juice, brown sugar, ground black pepper, and dried red chilies. Remember, the dried red chilies are optional. Stir this mixture well until the brown sugar is dissolved.

Add the cut pork belly pieces to a large, heavy-bottomed pot. You most certainly will want to use a pot with a tight-fitting, heavy lid. A Dutch oven is perfect for this recipe. A heavy lid will not let the steam escape, which will make sure the pork doesn’t dry out. Once the pork is in the pot, pour the sauce mixture over it.

Turn on the heat to medium-high. Allow the sauce to come to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to a simmer and place the heavy lid on the pot. Simmer the pork belly for 50 minutes. Afterward, remove the lid and simmer for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and thickened to your liking. The sauce will not be super thick but will coat the back of a spoon. Once done, remove from the heat, plate over steamed rice, and garnish with sesame seeds and chives.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

As you can see from the photographs, I served my Braised Pork Hamonado with rice. I love it this way; just plain and simple so that the pork is the star of my dinner. And, I love how the rice soaks up that sweet and sticky, savoury and garlicky sauce!

It is also really delicious with my Honey Soy Asparagus. The sweetness of the honey in the asparagus and the nuttiness of the black sesame seeds really pair well with the pork. I also have a copycat version of the Dainty Brand Beef Fried Rice that is a personal favourite of mine – just in case you don’t care much for plain white rice!

When it comes to sides to pair well with this dish, it is quite easy to come up with something, because just about everything works well with it. Just be sure to pair it with more muted sides, because it would be a shame to overshadow the flavour of that delicious pork!