Meatloaf is to Americans, as Embutido is to Pinoys

Embutido preparation has a lot of variations. some opt to include in the stuffing, whole hard-boiled eggs and vienna sausages. Others include pickles (or gherkins) and use flour to hold it all together. Embutido is also called Filipino meatloaf, pork roll and sometimes even sausage. however, the inclination to make it more of a meatloaf is due to the size of the rolls. They are mostly bigger than sausages with 2-3in in diameter. It is also sometimes called morcon, although, generally, morcon is prepared with slices of meat, and not minced. Recipe variations and preparation can be found in the ff links, amongst hundreds of others online.

http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/morcon-by-chef-chris-bautista

http://overseaspinoycooking.blogspot.com/2008/02/embutido.html

http://burntlumpia.typepad.com/burnt_lumpia/2009/05/embutido-filipinostyle-meatloaf.html

http://www.allfavoriterecipe.com/RecipeDetailEmbutido(FilipinoMeatloaf).aspx

I've tried store-bought embutido's from the local Filipino stores here in Sydney, but never tried making them at home. In fairness to this Filipino version of the American meat loaf, its not that hard to make. Especially with the availability of ovens in most houses these days, there is no need for the three-tiered bamboo steamer or the massive steamer pots. All you need are the basic embutido ingredients, aluminum foil for wrapping and a roasting tray. And I firmly believe, steaming it in the oven is faster than actually doing stove-top steaming.

This was a first time in our house. This was prepared with the assistance of my master chef father - who is currently in town to help do more magic in my kitchen. A good time to document those family recipes he's been preparing all those years, like his famous menudo!

The ingredients are listed down, with the quantities not as accurate as a recipe book. As with any of my home-prepared meals, seasonings such as salt, pepper and soy sauce were based on hunch. The corn starch and breadcrumbs were based on intuition as well. If it looks alright, then it probably is. The veggies were chopped using the manual food processor, so these were fairly fine than those manually chopped with a knife.

Ingredients

500g minced pork (with fat)
500g best minced pork
3 medium sized carrots, finely chopped
1 large capsicum, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
6 cocktail hotdogs (I think bacon would just as well be as nice or even chorizo), we chopped this into bits as well
1 pack 50g sultanas/raisins
5 xl eggs (700g each)
corn starch
breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
soy sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, making sure all the corn starch, breadcrumbs and eggs are blended well with the rest of the ingredients.

Rest for about 30-45 min to let the flavours blend in together.

Scoop about 3-4 heaping tablespoons onto a piece of aluminum foil. wrap and twist the ends. do with the rest of the mixture until used up.

Yield: 12 assorted mismatched-sized embutido rolls

Place the wrapped embutido's onto a tray rack that fits a roasting pan.

Fill the roasting pan half-way with water.

Bake in a pre-heated 180 degree oven for 1.5hours. Checking every 30min making sure the water isn't dried up. Add water as necessary.

The embutido should be cooked through if a skewer inserted comes out clean. just as it is when baking cakes.

The embutido is now ready to eat. slice into pieces and serve on a plate.

For eating later, store the embutido rolls in the freezer for longer life. and thaw overnight if intending to serve the next day. Or you may slice the embutido while frozen and shallow fry for 1-2 minutes.