Longganisa
Sweet, garlicky Filipino pork sausages shaped without casings, simmered in water until it evaporates and then browned in their own fat.
Photograph credit: Cabanatuan longganisa Batutay CNE 04 by CNEcija12345 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
How to Cook Longganisa
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Mix the pork with the garlic, sugar, vinegar, paprika, salt and pepper. Work with your hands for 1 minute until sticky. Cover and chill for 2 hours.
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Shape into 12 small logs about 7 cm long.
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Put the sausages in a wide pan with the water. Cover and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes until the water has evaporated.
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Add the oil and fry for 8 minutes, turning, until browned and glossy.
What Can Go Wrong
- Wet your hands when shaping to stop the mixture sticking.
- Freeze uncooked logs for up to 1 month.
- Serve with spiced vinegar for dipping.
If You're Missing Something
- An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
About This Recipe
No casing, no stuffer, no special equipment: skinless longganisa is shaped by hand into small logs and cooked in a pan, and the simple method is how most Filipino households make them. The sweet and garlicky flavour is closer to a spiced breakfast patty than to a European sausage.
The meat should be ground pork with a good proportion of fat, around 25 per cent. Lean pork gives dry sausages. Mix it with plenty of garlic, brown sugar, vinegar, paprika, black pepper and salt, and work the mixture with your hands for a minute until sticky. Rest the mixture for 2 hours in the fridge. The salt and sugar draw out moisture, then it is reabsorbed, so the sausages are tender and the flavour spreads through.
Shape into logs about 7 cm long. The cooking is unusual and useful: put the logs in a pan with a little water, cover, and cook for 10 minutes until the water has gone. Then fry them in their own fat for another 8 minutes, turning, until browned and glossy.
Serve with garlic rice, a fried egg and a dish of vinegar.
On the Table Alongside
Garlic rice · Fried egg · Spiced vinegar · Sliced tomato
Keeping Longganisa
Keeps in the fridge for 3 days or freezes uncooked for 1 month.
Questions People Ask
How long does Longganisa take to make?
20 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 2 hours of Chilling, so allow 2 hours 45 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 4.
What's in a Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
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