Just minutes before reaching the turn-off for the Maya-Maya Beach Club on the road from Nasugbu towards Balaytigue, Batangas, there is a small stand that sells unusual meats on the weekends. The couple that resides behind the property raise native pigs, domesticated boar (baboy ramo) and also native chickens, ostriches(?!) and other types of meat. We have inquired about native pigs before but they seemed exorbitantly priced at the time and we left it at that. But on a recent weekend, I spied some freshly butchered “native pork” hanging on hooks under the little thatched roof, and we stopped to inquire… Do NOT click on the jump to read the rest of this post if you are squeamish about seeing freshly butchered livestock.
I grilled them a bit on what they meant by native pigs and baboy ramo, and they claimed they had cross-bred wild boar with native pigs, hence the darker more muscular meat, and that distinct baboy ramo flavor when the pork was cooked. The native pork longganisa sounded intriguing so we decided to buy a kilo of that. It was pretty good, and resulted in seriously wicked longganisa burps for anyone who consumed it!
The two heads of slaughtered “native” pigs looked a bit different from the ones we have in Cebu; I think this was partially a result of the more local or should I say somewhat primitive set up, and the pigs had had their hair removed with a flame or over flames instead of the treatment in hot water that I am more used to seeing. As a result, the meat was less than pristinely clean looking, and had lots of stubble. But it did seem fresh, the blood an indication it was just an hour or two since slaughter, at most.
I bought about a kilo and half worth of meat, with bones, which I intended to use in an experimental tocino made with baboy ramo or wild boar (in this case, domesticated pig-boar). AT some PHP200-220 a kilo (I can’t recall exact price), this was pricey, but for a total price of PHP300, probably well worth the results of my experiments, if they turned out okay… Tocinong Baboy Ramo a la Marketman, up next! :)
19 Responses
I witnessed a “hunt” of wild pigs in the mountains of Pangil Laguna. I was a bit anxious when I saw my cousin packing a .22 cal rifle with a handful of shells and some sweet potatos (kamote). After a two hour hike up the mountains, he started dispersing the half dozen or so kamote and had me climb up a tree. We must have waited about 45 minutes to an hour when I heard some grunting. The pigs made their appearance and started nibbling on a kamote. I was waiting for my cousin to take a shot when I heard a bang and saw the pig twitching on the ground. It was then when my cousin jumped off the tree and delivered a coup de grace to the dying pig. It was not a bad catch. I guess it was about 15 to twenty kilos heavy. But we were able to float the carcass down the streams buoyed by bamboo poles. Nevertheless, my last hunting trip with cousins.
I wonder how many genuine baboy damo remain. Here in Australia, all feral pigs (baboy damo) are escaped domestic breeds, not a separate species. They revert to their primitive ways and can be dangerous. It is considered a sport here to corner them using trained pig dogs, and administer the coup de grace with a unique heavy duty knife designed for the purpose, designed with a strong blade that will not snap.
Because they are escaped pigs, they can be found near cities. I have never tasted them here as they are plagued with parasites, but I have been told the taste is different.
this is one type of pig that I have never had before
My uncle always brought “kusahos” or sun-dried pig’s meat from a baboy ramo when I was growing up in Bohol. That was ages ago. Dang! I miss eating it!
Try tapang baboyramo, it was the best. I went to Bicol a few years ago and along the way somewhere in Camarines sur, i saw these small carenderia where they serve sinangag with tapang usa or baboyramo, it really taste different but its really good.
“they had cross-bread wild boar with native pigs” MM, I know you’re in a rush, so you might have missed this typo.
You know those pata negra swine whose hind quarters they turn into jamon iberico, I suspect, owe their distinc flavor more to their diet of acorns than to their genetic make-up. So crossing a domestic breed with a wild one won’t necessarily produce a more flavorful new strain of pork unless you also change their diet which in the case of home grown domestic pigs is mostly slop or swill.
Off topic MM, just wana know if ur going to MAFBEX (if i pronounce it right) in WTC this coming june 16-19?
Quiapo, I think I read about those feral pigs. They grow so HUGE like as big as a three seater sofa. Scary.
My mother’s ancestral home is in Sibul Springs, San Miguel Bulacan which is near the foot of the Sierra Madre. My mom said that the Itas (or Kulot as they prefer to be called) would regularly go to their town and trade baboy ramo for basic items like rice. At certain times, it was not advisable to buy baboy ramo during the fruiting season of a particular tree (she forgets) because it gave the meat a funny taste. Anyone have an idea what this fruit is?
I have this OLDER story, told about my husband’s great grandfather. In Cagayan Valley, baboy ramo used to be hunted by groups of men mounted on horses. The would dig a hole in the forest and set it up with wooden spikes at the bottom. The mounted men would create a ruckus in a very large circle at the edge of the forest that would drive the baboy ramo within the circle. They will continue to tighten the circle until the baboy ramo are driven into the hole.
Those were probably the days when we had honest to God forests and wildlife to speak of. Hay.
Baboy ramo is the best tasting pork. I had it during my childhood days back in the Philippines where my mom used to buy it from hunters.
Risa, yes the -pigs can grow huge, and most pig hunters use guns rather than knives. The knives are fairly expensive, = handmade with hardened steel they cost about $250 for a good one. In the Philippines, when I was a boy I heard of hunters waiting undrr a fruit tree and tossing a stone in the air to simulate a falling fruit. When the wild boar came they dispatched it with a spear. I dont remember if the hunters were tribal.
Quiapo, yikes. To use a knife accurately would need the hunter to get close. Too close!
There is a resto in the town of Mayantoc, Tarlac that serves exotic game meats. They serve a mean adobong baboy ramo, yummy.
We need to do some charcuterie on those pigs :))
i am looking for respondents 4 my thesis entitled economic analysis of native pigs in bicol…to those people n may alam ng nga nag ra2ise ng native pigs, i need your help.. much better s masbate…juz txt me 09306742128…tnx
hi, risa u said that ur mother was from sibul spring san miguel bulacan,im also from their,wat was ur mother surname or name?right now i have 3 native pigs that im trying to raise it ,i bought it in a mountain foot of sierra madre in antipolo.because in sibul u cannot find a single native pigs right nw,unlike b4 wen i was young in sibul i saw some natve pigs.i want the people their to be more aware about the important of native pigs as a more economical livestock and so easy to breed,unlike the imported one which is more toxic in chemicals and very expensive.
Natural and organic foods are the new trend for health conscious family or individual. Raising native pigs is on its way to compete with high breed ones. So, those with capital, try investing on this breed.
Presently, 5 inahin native pigs we have in San Quintin, Pangasinan gave birth last July 2011. Feeding is simple – natural and economical -darak & grass will do.
nag alaga ako ng baboy sa bohol..ang problema ko kung papaano ko maibenta..saan ko ba ibenta