My daughter is coming down from Northern California this weekend to visit, so I thought I would prepare her favorite skinless longganisa and have a few packs ready for her to bring back home.

Unfortunately, she didn’t take after me the love for cooking, and now that she lives miles away, she mostly dines out or orders in. I am sure having these Filipino sausages in the freezer will come in handy when she’s craving a quick and easy home-cooked meal.

And since I was making them anyway, I thought I might as well take a few in-process photos and update this post I first published in 2013. I hope you find the tips helpful.

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What is Skinless Longganisa?

Longanisa is one of the many legacies of three centuries-long Spanish colonization of the Philippines. An adaptation of the Spanish longaniza, this native sausage is traditionally made of ground pork and seasoned with a unique blend of herbs and spices varying from one region to region.

Skinless longganisa is similar in taste to the sweet and garlicky hamonado, but instead of stuffing into hog casings, the pork mixture is wrapped in wax paper or plastic film to maintain shape.

How Do You Make Skinless Longganisa?

Skinless longganisa are so easy to make, you’ll have a big batch ready in a cinch. It’s just a matter of mixing the ground pork, minced garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper in a bowl until fully incorporated.

Good sausage needs fat as well as lean meat for flavor and juiciness. I like to mix in 1/2 pound of ground pork fat with 1 1/2 pounds of lean ground pork but if you can’t find pork fat, use 2 pounds of ground pork with a good amount of fat marbling. I don’t recommend using lean pork as the sausages tend to be tough and dry when cooked.

I don’t add extenders or binders such as flour or breadcrumbs. Just chill the sausages after wrapping and they should fry well without breaking or falling apart.

Want variety? Swap ground chicken or ground beef for the pork!

The most time-consuming part of the preparation, in my opinion, is shaping the pork sausage into thin logs and wrapping in wax paper. Cut the paper in uniform lengths and use as a guideline when forming the longganisa.

If you want to skip the tedious wrapping of the sausage logs individually, you can spread the pork mixture into about a 1/2-inch thick layer on a sheet of wax paper and then cut into sizes with a knife or a pizza cutter.

Arrange the wrapped longanisa in resealable bags and they should keep in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in the freezer for 1 to 2 months. I suggest labeling the bag or container with the packing date so you’ll know until when they’ll be good for.

How to Cook Longganisa

You can thaw the pork longganisa for a few hours or cook frozen.

1. Peel the wrapper and in a wide pan, arrange the sausage in a single layer. Add about 1/2 cup of water to cover them halfway.
2. Over medium heat, bring to simmer and cover. Cook until most of the liquid is reduced and pork is cooked through.
3. Add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil and continue to cook, uncovered and stirring regularly, until lightly browned and caramelized.

Serve these sweet sausages with garlic fried rice and sunny side up eggs for a classic Filipino breakfast called Longsilog.

I love this hearty meal with side of chopped tomatoes for a pop of fresh flavor but spiced vinegar dip is also a traditional accompaniment. My pickled atchara will be delcious here, too!

5 from 2 votes

Print

Skinless Longganisa

Prep Time

20mins

Cook Time

10mins

Total Time

30mins

Skinless Longganisa with a delicious nashville filipino food medley of sweet, savory, and garlicky flavors you'll love. Serve these Filipino pork sausages with garlic fried rice and sunny side eggs for a hearty and tasty breakfast meal!

Course:Breakfast, Main Entree

Cuisine:Filipino

Keyword:longanisa, skinless longganisa

Servings: 12Servings

Calories: 371kcal

Author: Lalaine

Ingredients

• 1 1/2poundslean ground pork
• 1/2poundground pork fat
• 1/2cupbrown sugar
• 1headgarlic, peeled and minced
• 2tablespoonssoy sauce
• 1tablespoonvinegar
• 1tablespoonsalt
• 2teaspoonsground black pepper
• 1tablespooncanola oil

Equipment

• wax paper, cut into 4 x 4 sheets

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine ground pork, ground pork fat, sugar, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix until well-distributed.

2. On an individual sheet of wax paper, spoon about 1 tablespoon of pork mixture and form into a log. Roll and wrap tightly.

3. Repeat until all the mixture is shaped and wrapped. Arrange sausages in a ziplock bag or airtight container and freeze.

4. To cook, remove wax paper. In a wide pan over medium heat, arrange skinless longganisa in a single layer and add enough water to cover sausages halfway.

5. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until most of the water is reduced and sausages are cooked through.

6. Add the oil and cook, turning as needed, until longganisa are lightly browned and caramelized.

7. Remove from pan and serve hot.

Recipe Notes

If you can't find pork fat, use 2 pounds ground pork with good fat marbling. Do NOT use lean as the sausages will be tough and dry.

Nutritional info calculated at 3 longganisa per serving.

Nutrition Facts

Skinless Longganisa

Amount Per Serving

Calories 371Calories from Fat 288

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 32g49%

Saturated Fat 11g55%

Cholesterol 58mg19%

Sodium 783mg33%

Potassium 195mg6%

Total Carbohydrates 10g3%

Sugars 8g

Protein 10g20%

Vitamin C1.4%

Calcium2.1%

Iron3.9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.