“The Best Pig in the World”
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Rico’s Lechon
Less than an hour away from Manila by plane, Cebu is referred to as the “Queen City of the South.” It is one of the country’s oldest settlements pre-dating Spanish conquest. This is where Ferdinand Magellan landed in 1521 and where Christianity was introduced. Today, Cebu is a thriving metropolis which boasts of beautiful beaches, rich history, and delicious food.
Cebu is famous for lechon, and many will say it is a cut above the rest. In the book Hikay The Culinary Heritage of Cebu written by Louella Alix, she says it is because of the care Cebuano lechoneros put in preparing the pig, from the careful cleaning of the stomach cavity to the close shave of the skin. Cebuanos have long had a tradition of inasal or roasting as chronicled by Antonio Pigafetta. Magellan may have been in killed in Mactan, but Pigafetta, the Italian chronicler of the Magellan expedition lived to tell the tale. He writes that lechon was served in a welcome feast prepared for Magellan and the members of the expedition.
Talisay City on a Sunday
A Sunday Tradition
If you are in Cebu on a Sunday morning and feel like lechon for breakfast, head to Talisay City, which is about 30 minutes from the city center. There is a whole street here of family owned stalls that roast and sell lechon. Talisay caters to families attending mass and beach goers that have come to expect a special meal on Sundays. Locals have been enjoying this tradition for many decades. The atmosphere is festive and jovial with everyone excited for a lechon meal. Carmen’s came highly recommended and this is where we enjoyed lechon ribs which goes perfectly with the iconic Cebuano puso or hanging rice wrapped in woven palm leaves. With many cuts of lechon to choose from, go for the ribs because the meat closest to the bone is the most tender. Unlike lechon found elsewhere in the country, Cebu lechon is full of flavor because of its stuffing that no sauce is needed. Now what about the skin? Perfectly crisp as all good lechon should be. Talisay lechon according to Carmen uses firewood and not coal and this she says is the secret to crispy skin. Also she says proudly, most Manila lechoneros are originally from Talisay.
Talisay heart and ribs
The Art Of Roasting A Pig
Rico’s Lechon is a popular Cebu brand made famous by celebrities like President Erap and Kris Aquino. Filming for the travel and food show Food Prints hosted by Filipino chef and restaurateur Sandy Daza gave us access to Rico’s commissary, and Rico Dionson himself showed us his step-by-step recipe. It begins with a pig that’s maybe five weeks old. The skin has been shaved, cleaned and dried. He rubs fistfuls of rock salt generously inside and out. Then, he stuffs the cavity with lots of red onion or what they call bumbay, onion leeks, garlic, and tomatoes, and then with an oversized needle he sews the cavity shut with abaca twine.
Rico Dionson (left) and Sandy Daza
Before roasting, he rubs the pig with Camel soy sauce. A brand of soy sauce found only in Cebu. The pig is roasted over red hot coal for about an hour and a half. Traditionally the pig is rotated manually, but Rico has a machine that does the rotating. Once done, it is taken from the spit and served to us. There are few culinary experiences that can compare to eating a roast pig fresh off the spit. The meat is melt-in-your-mouth tender while the skin that is so prized is crackling and crispy. In a word, divine! I attribute this again to Rico’s preparation and recipe but, more importantly, to the amount of time between the spit where the lechon is taken and removed from the bamboo pole, placed whole on a table where it is portioned, and served to us, which is a mere matter of minutes!
Cebu is a lechon lover’s paradise. There are many well-known restaurants like Zubochon, CnT and Ayer’s, and there is still traditional road side Sunday lechon in Talisay. Take your pick, you’re in Cebu after all and, personally, as long as it is freshly roasted, it’s going to be “The best pig in the world.”
Jennifer Celdran
Jennifer Celdran is an independent writer and producer based in Manila. Her company Red Balloon Productions is behind popular and award-winning shows like Food Prints, Casa Daza and The Crawl. She has traveled extensively around the Philippines and abroad, all in the name of good food.
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