Tocino is bacon in Spanish, typically made from the

pork belly Pork belly or belly pork is a boneless and fatty cut of meat from the belly of a pig. Pork belly is particularly popular in Hispanic, Chinese, Danish, Norwegian, Korean, Thai and Filipino cuisine. Regional dishes France In Alsatian ...

and often formed into cubes in Spain. In Caribbean countries, such as

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, ''tocino'' is made from pork fatback and is neither cured nor smoked but simply fried until very crunchy; it is then added to recipes, much like the way

lardon A lardon, also spelled lardoon, is a small strip or cube of fatty bacon, or pork fat (usually subcutaneous fat), used in a wide variety of cuisines to flavor savory food and salads. In French cuisine, lardons are also used for larding, by thr ...

s are used in

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

. In the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, tocino refers to sweetened and cured pork belly.

Spain

In Spain, as in Venezuela (where bacon is "tocineta"), the word ''tocino'' refers to the layer of fat under a pig's skin. It is almost pure fat, and is often salted and cut into cubes. It is consumed as part of traditional recipes such as ''

cocido () or ''cozido'' () is a traditional stew eaten as a main dish in Spain, Portugal, Brazil and other Hispanophone and Lusophone countries. Etymology In Spanish, ''cocido'' is the past participle of the verb ''cocer'' ("to boil"), so it literal ...

''.

Philippines

In making ''tocino'' in the Philippines, the pork belly meat is first sliced into thin strips. Anise wine,

annatto Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree ('' Bixa orellana''), native to tropical America. It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its f ...

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

, sugar, and

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

are combined in a container, and the meat strips are sprinkled with the mixture and stacked in a container, which is covered and refrigerated for three days to cure. In an alternate recipe, the meat strips are marinated with salt, sugar, and ''salitre'' (

saltpetre Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitra ...

), and

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...

juice may be added for a slightly tart flavor. ''Tocino'' is traditionally boiled in water (just enough to cover the meat), fried in oil, or cooked over medium heat until the fat is rendered. The

Kapampangans The Kapampangan people ( pam, Taung Kapampangan), Pampangueños or Pampangos, are the sixth largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering about 2,784,526 in 2010. They live mainly in the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan and Tarlac, as ...

( kapampangan: ''Pindang'') who make ''tocino'' by simmering it for four to six hours in order to achieve thickness and softness in the meat, then leave it overnight at room temperature before serving it as ''burong baboy'' (fermented pork). ''Tocino'' is often served as the popular breakfast or lunchtime combination called ''

tosilog ''Silog'' is a class of Filipino breakfast dishes containing ''sinangag'' (fried rice) and ''itlog'' (egg; in context, fried egg). They are served with various viands or ''ulam'', usually meat dishes such as tapa, longganisa or ham. The name of ...

'', which name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsrice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

) and ''itlóg'' (egg, which is cooked either sunny-side up or scrambled).

Caribbean

Tocino is cut into small squares and fried until crunchy and added to recipes like

mofongo Mofongo () is a Puerto Rican dish with plantains as its main ingredient. Plantains are picked green, cut into pieces and typically fried but can be boiled or roasted, then mashed with salt, garlic, broth, and olive oil in a wooden pilón (mortar ...

and ''arroz blanco con tocino'', "white rice and tocino". In Cuba, it can be added to soft bread.

Central America

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

, tocino is prepared in a few ways. The most common is when it is marinated in

achiote ''Bixa orellana'', also known as achiote, is a shrub native to Central America. ''Bixa orellana'' is grown in many countries worldwide. The tree is best known as the source of annatto, a natural orange-red condiment (also called or ) obtained ...

, naranja agria, and vinegar and then added to the

Nacatamal A ''nacatamal'' is a traditional dish found in Nicaragua and Honduras similar to the ''tamal'' and to the ''hallaca''. Its name originates from the Nawat language spoken by the Nicarao, which were situated on the Southern Pacific coast of Nicar ...

. It cooks inside of the nacatamal via vapor.

United States

The Hormel Foods Corporation makes a tocino-flavored version of their SPAM product for sale in supermarkets.

References

External links

Filipino Pork Tocino Recipe
* Tocino de Pancetta, Panci

* Panceta de Cerd

* Tocino Puerto Ric

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