Homemade "longganisa": simply delicious

Simple home-made meat product without the extra preservatives

   My previous background is in Food Science. Since I have learned quite a number of information about food itself, food ingredients, chemicals, preservatives and their connection to one's health and biological functions, I have cultivated this habit of always checking the labels of foods and choosing the ones with very few preservatives and chemicals.  Most of the time I cook my own foods rather than buying them.  You know what I mean; sometimes, those extra chemicals do bother me.  I make my own marmalades, cakes, brownies, cookies, among others. And here, I am showing you one more dish that I have tried many times to prepare and they are really good plain and simple - a meat product so famous in the Philippines called "longganisa".   As many as there are regions specializing in such a meat product, so are the flavors.   It is ground meat either stuffed into casings (it is locally termed skinless if it is not enclosed in an outer edible film.  The latter is the type shown here. It is just rolled in cellophane.  The cellophane cover is removed before frying.




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   All longganisa products in the market are made from pork alone.  Here, I tried to make one that is a 50:50 mixture of pork and chicken. This was flavored with sugar, salt and spices.  I kept these in the refrigerator so they naturally got "cured" (flavor development). If I felt like eating one, I would just cook it under medium or low flame. The taste was really good.  Besides, I am assured that I am eating something derived from good meats and that there are no preservatives. Below is the cooked version decorated with fried garlic.  Bon appetit!





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