Holiday Tradition, Meats

Tocino Ham

Ingredients

  • 1 Bone-in Spiral Ham
  • 5 cups pineapple juice (for stronger pineapple flavor; use fresh or unsweetened for best results) (or use a 40-46 fl oz can of pineapple juice
  • 12-15 cups brown sugar (this boosts sweetness significantly compared to your original)
  • 60 cloves garlic, finely minced (about 4-5 heads; for deep flavor penetration) (if you will puree, lessen the garlic so it’s not overpowering)
  • 10 tablespoons finely ground black pepper
  • 1¼ cups soy sauce
  • 2½ cups rice vinegar (or white vinegar as in your original)
  • (Optional) 5 tablespoons annatto powder (for classic tocino color; dissolve in a bit of warm water first to avoid clumps—adjust down if too intense)
  • (Optional) 1¼ cups rice flour (omit for better penetration; if using, add only to reserved glaze portion)

Directions

  • Make the marinade. Try to puree it with a blender for best mixing. Otherwise, just mix it all.
  • Fully submerge the ham in an oven bag and marinate for about 24 hours (too long and it can dry out the meat–tried 3 days and it was too long but the flavor was excellent).
  • Put ham on a roasting rack and pan.
  • Take the excess marinade and reduce until thick and syrupy and coat the ham with it.
  • Preheat the oven to 350F.
  • Cover the ham with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
  • Take out, uncover ham and raise the oven temperature to 400F. Re-glaze with marinade.
  • Bake for another 15 minutes until caramelized and glossy at 400F.
Share this Story

Leave a Reply