Marketman’s Lechon

Welcome to marketmanila.com, a food blog that is about 4.5 years old, and has some 2,100 separate posts in the archives. I am expecting several new readers to google up this site as a result of a segment on Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’s program this evening, so I have decided to compile this list of posts related to lechon and what eventually led up to the roast pig that Mr. Bourdain tasted and kindly declared was “The Best Pig, Ever”… leading to the Time article listing Cebu lechon as one of this year’s “Best of Asia” and all of this attention for a dish we as a nation enjoy all year round. Let me make this crystal clear from the start. I do not think there is any one “BEST” lechon, that is just too subjective an opinion given such a wide range of taste buds and personal preferences. Let’s just say it was the luck of the draw that this particular silly lechon has been featured recently… So here is a guide to several posts related to lechon and which chronicle the development of our version of the national dish…

Early on, I wrote a post on lechon and where we were buying ours at that time, nearly 4 years ago. An early poll on Pinoys favorite Filipino dishes, lechon ranked 4th overall. Then I later wrote a post on what qualities I assumed an ideal lechon might possess. I note now that several of my assumptions then have proven to be incorrect. Instead of smooth skin, I now prefer an “accuchon” treatment, and instead of a 15 kilo or so pig, I have recently been leaning more towards a 25-30 kilo ideal weight. Next, as a pre-cursor to my own lechon experiments, I “dissected” ordered lechons to try and see what stuffing they had inside. And a slight diversion from roasted pigs, I did have a post on cute wallowing pigs, to remind us all that a creature was killed every time we enjoyed this dish. And here’s another post along that vein, on humongous pig’s cheeks which make guanciale.

I finally decided to pursue a food dream to figure out how to make lechon from scratch in our own “backyard” and embarked on what was perhaps a risky, expensive and potentially disastrous quest. Or not. :) The first step was to build the lechonan. The next step was to identify the piggy variables, from native to farm-raised, small to medium size… And before we even finished construction of the lechonan, we hastily tried our first lechon, a “fat” rather than “dry run” that turned out pretty decent. A second experiment happened weeks later. Then a third, fondly called the “slitchon” but which looked a bit gory. A sometimes controversial duo of post and post on accupuncturing meat. Resulting in the fourth lechon experiment, which yielded the (now should be patented) “Accuchon” a la Marketman. By the fifth official experiment, we were quite pleased with the results, and we scheduled a marketmanila reader lechon eyeball to pile on the pressure to keep improving our lechon.

But unbeknownst to everyone besides myself, family and crew, I had been contacted by the producers of an American television program. So under complete secrecy, plans and weeks of preparation were done to host a visiting food personality who many guessed was Anthony Bourdain. I wrote this silly post the day before leaving for Cebu to make final preparations for the shoot. then that was followed by this very popular post (with tons of photos) on last minute research in Cebu and Talisay regarding the final menu I planned to serve. The day before the Bourdain shoot, I went to the Carbon market to get supplies.

The shoot on October 28th went quite well. And after a very long and stressfull day, I did this short but oh so very sweet summary of the day’s outcome. So regular readers of this blog knew nearly half a year ago, what is only now hitting various news outlets… :) After recovering from the shock, I wrote this lengthy post on what really went on at the shoot, but without giving away details… that would have to come after the program was aired in the U.S. Of course it was somewhat inevitable that with a post that attracted so many readers and comments, one or two cyber lunatics otherwise known as “trolls” would attempt to put a damper on good vibes, which I responded to with this post. And though I jump ahead, the real “I told you so” was in this much later post, here, which described in detail behind the scenes preparations.

Word finally came in early February 2009 that the No Reservations Philippines episode would be debuted in the U.S. on February 16, and the first teaser on their website quoted Bourdain as saying the lechon skin “Tastes Like Candy…”, in this post. As soon as the episode started airing on March 16th, several readers in the U.S. started leaving comments on this post to describe it for all of us who were not in the U.S., the comments are hilarious at times. I described the full lunch menu served here. In the meantime, blog posts by Mr. Bourdain on his show’s website were getting a near record number of comments, mostly from Pinoys in the U.S., and many of them unflattering and frankly, crab-like in mentality. In reaction to some of those comments, I wrote this post about what I thought of Mr. Bourdain’s chosen guide who was a Filipino American and only on his second visit to the Philippines, ever. And seemingly in support of my views on Augusto, Mr. Bourdain added another comment on his blog, praising Augusto, here.

After the post-program hubbub had died down, I figured that was that. Until Time Magazine referred to that Bourdain episode and named the Philippines as having the best pig, in their annual Asian edition selecting “The Best of Asia.” That led to TV Patrol, DZMM, other radio programs, even Kris Aquino mentioning it, newspaper coverage, etc. etc. And finally, a request from Jessica Soho’s producers to film a lechon being made from scratch, one of the subjects of this evening’s program. So if this is your first time to marketmanila.com, you can click on the links above if interested in the “whole” story. And if you are a regular, I apologize for repeating myself. Thanks for dropping by and welcome to marketmanila.com! :)

Postscript: Since I wrote this post, there have been several related lechon posts which may also be of interest to you:

Zubuchon – you can now purchase the accupunctured lechon in Cebu
Schedule of “No Reservations, Philippines” on local cable television stations in the Philippines
“The Best of The Best” – a link to the Food & Wine Magazine blog which has an article about an Anthony Bourdain interview with Frank Bruni of the New York Times
A Zubuchon Press Lunch

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Marketman

Marketman is a well-traveled management consultant who loves buying, cooking and eating good food. Read more »

80 Responses

  2. MM, this post is a comprehensive anthology of the evolution of your famous lechon. It brings back memories of our lechon EB in Cebu.

  3. am really sure there will be a lot of viewers who will be added up to your long list of readers addicted to your site. this only proves that marketmanila.con is indeed a site worth visiting. congrats MM…..will be watching tonite and hope that i cud record it in my camera and sent it via email to bettyq!!!!!!!

  4. and that is why MM is also now known as the “pig man”… not in any way related to the swine flu hehehe. i can’t wait to watch the episode on the net.

  5. Could somebody please post the jessica soho show on the you tube for us who do not have a gma channel? Would really appreciate it. Thank you. Or maybe we could watch it on “pinoychannel.tv”?

  6. still no sight of the lechon am channel surfing while waiting for the show… its still bitoy’s funiest or something…

  7. Great MM…i’ll enjoy reading the “Lechon Chronicles” over again. i really enjoyed the Bourdain “before during and after” posts.

    welcome to the new blog fans..

  8. Saw the introduction of your segment in Jessica Soho’s show. What was it that you said?! “Super Lutong!” Hehe We’re expecting more Taglish goofs just as you have said.

  9. wow MM! very well prepared ka with this post! saw you chomping on that crispy lechon skin! yum! :D

  10. i’m watching Jessica Soho’s segment about MM’s lechon now… at 9:34 i think i’m craving for a lechon and sisig wow perfect combination yumm! congrats MM!

  11. 122 calories???!!! wow! di bale na, walang kwenta ang buhay kung walang lechon. :D

  12. OMG I watched the segment on your lechon and enjoyed the feature about it. Even though I don’t eat pork, that was the first time I found myself salivating on lechon as I heard the the crunchy sound of the crispy skin. haha! :) With all the spices and flavor you infused it with, I was trying hard to imagine what it did to yours senses.

    I have been a long time follower of your blog. Since you take most of the photos, your face is always hidden or if ever, partial body shots lang. I’m so happy I finally put a face to Mr. Market Manila! I proud you! :)

    I’m a Cebuana and talagang the best yung lechon Cebu! (even if I don’t eat it, toinks!). My parents and family all live in Manila while I’m based here. Whenever there’s a big occasion, I would bring lechon.

    A few years ago it was my father’s bday so I flew and came bearing a huge gift (roasted pig freshly roasted from Cebu). The very next day, my father was craving for lechon paksiw. So off to the kitchen counter he went, while the rest of us were having breakfast. He quickly whisked up a delicious smelling paksiw, and the smell was permeating the kitchen. Within a few minutes, it was served and my family joyfully took their share.

    I noticed they had this funny questioning look on their faces as they were chewing. One by one, they go “Pa, unsa ni?!” (Pa, ano to?!) Yun pala, it was manila paper! Oh how we all laughed so hard over breakfast!

    Sa pagmamadali kasi, nasali ng father ko sa pagluto yung manila paper that was used to wrap the lechon. Comedy talaga.

    See what lechon can do. :)

  13. Kudos! Marketman..luv your blog and Mr. Bourdain’s show..very unpretentious and never failing to focus on the star (the food) but with brilliantly mixed in lite interjections of cultural influence to give it flavor. Your lechon looked terrific! in the No Reservations..with Mr. Bourdain’s pitch, all the blog entries and Time chiming in..why not market it marketman (sorry for the pun). Seriously..you should put in an entry for whole hog at Memphis in May and open up the very insular American food scene and give them a pork BBQ gastronomic euphoria they have never experienced! I’d certainly make the trip out to Elvis country for that. Keep on Blogging!!

  14. Saw the Lechon segment on Jessica Soho’s program. I loved it, your lechon was indeed the winner and stood out among the commercialized roast piggies. Your segment went well and I am impressed with your Tagalog. To me you seem natural in front of the camera! =)

    I’m pretty sure a lot of new folks would be checking out your site after drooling at the sight of Mr. Bourdain’s “best pig ever!”. My wife and I certainly drooled over it! Sarap!!!

  16. Everyone at home watching the lechon segment was salivating! You can even hear the “crunch” when you bite on the lechon skin. “Super crunchy!” =D

    My sisters were kinda surprised I “knew” you, I told them I was a fan and avid blog follower (although “silent” follower 80% of the time).

    Congratulations MM!

  17. Hi MM! The whole family watched your segment in Kapuso Mo Jessica show. Everyone was glued and “takam na takam” with the super crunchy lechon skin!

    More power MM! :)

  18. I am the other guy from Cebu who had to speak in English during the interview since my Tagalog is inadequate. This took place at the C&T in Guadalupe. The amount of cholesterol really depends on the amount of fat present in the pig.

    Native pigs in Luzon are feed rice bran and this gives a more firm subcutaneous fat when cooked. Pigs in the Visayas eat some fresh coconut residue; hence is less soft.

  19. I am the other guy from Cebu who had to speak in English during the interview since my Tagalog is inadequate. This took place at the C&T in Guadalupe. The amount of cholesterol really depends on the amount of fat present in the pig.

    Native pigs in Luzon are feed rice bran and this gives a more firm subcutaneous fat when cooked. Pigs in the Visayas eat some fresh coconut residue; hence fat is soft.

  22. Yes, Marketman, I’m seconding Franky’s question: how in the world do you keep the pounds off? I mean, you write a lot about food, and you eat them too, for sure. But how come you look so lean and trim and so young???? I work out a lot in the gym, but honestly, I still can’t get rid of the belly because I eat a lot. But you, you eat a lot I’m sure but it doesn’t show. What’s the secret? Would you please write a full blog on this, please. Thanks a lot…….

  23. ive been in iligan for 7 years and you know whati really love there is the lechon it was amazingly delicious and very unique on how they’re cooking it, it is very diffrerent from our lechon in batangas for the flavor and texture is deliciously crispy ang very unique only in this region since most of the people in iligan city are migrants from cebu that’s why they bring this delicacy in iligan city, the only difference is when they eat lechon here they don’t prefer lechon sauce just native coco vinegar with soy sauce and spices, and the inner parts of the lechon before they cook it they put tanglad(lemon grass), onions, garlic and some secret spices roasting in fire of coconut husk to give some tangy smokie dark brown crispiness texture and flavor.. it’s the best ever lechon ive ever tasted..

  25. Hooray for the Lechon and Filipino cuisine.

    MM is now The Trusted Name for Lechon recommendations.

    More power to you.

  26. MM..that is it! For my last meal on this planet, I am going back home just so I can taste this Lechon to die for (literally!)…

    Ley, I am scratching my head trying to find where you posted your e-mail. My apologies…I am done now with my courses and have time to type!

  27. Great show though unfortunately here in Hong Kong my satellite feed failed half way through=so please post youtube link.
    I think when I return to Hinunangan I will try to go the whole hog from birth to death and then to cooked Heaven=my sister all ready raises pigs (organic of course) so should be a great experiment
    Vilma

  28. MM, i wasn’t able to watch the show of jessica last night!!!! when you posted that you’re going to be featured, i excited planned to see it.. unfortunately , an untoward incident happened yesterday morning. i forgot all about it…!!! goodthing there’s youtube..requesting anyone , who save that show.. pls pls…post it in youtube.. thanks!!!

  30. Missed the show. It did not start at 8:30 as mentioned. Caught the tail end after 10 while surfing the channels. I guess it started at 9:30 or so. Sorry to have missed it

  31. yep..it started around 9:30pm.

    Another job well done MM. Congratulations!!!

    :-)

    Happy Mothers Day to all.

  33. when you came up with the crazy idea of pricking the lechon skin, who would have thought it would lead to global stardom..and for the crew even! waaaaay to go, MM!

  34. I’m one of the many “lurkers” thoroughly enjoying your site for the past couple of years. Its high time I congratulate and thank you most especially now that I’m battling the big C and undergoing chemo. Reading your blogs everyday helps me forget even for a short while, my physical condition. Thank you MM and I look forward to more…

  37. KMJH is the only Flipino show I watch kinda regularly. I have yet to see this “marketman” episode though.
    It airs Sunday nights here in the West Coast and that is tomorrow.
    Just like the Bourdain feature, I could hardly wait…
    Congratulations MM.

  39. it’s a shame, i can’t watch the episode.. so im just going to watch it on you tube..so for the kindhearted sou, pls share it with us.. post the episode on youtube.. thanks.. CONGRATS MM!

  40. Nice recap, MM. :)

    I’m really impressed how you make the efforts to make it very user-friendly to follow and learn more about our exciting food-culture.

    Thanks for the summary!

  41. loved your segment MM!!!! the “crunchy” lechon really gave me that urge to eat lechon at that very moment…..ang sarrrappp!
    everytime you bite the “balat”, nakaka inggit talaga……ang lutong talaga!!!!! betty q, i was able to video it in my camera. just do not know how it looks when you watch it. will try to put it in youtube for you to watch……….MM,thanks for giving us enjoyment in this blogging world!!!!!!!

  43. aye, you can hear the crucnh from our living room to the kitchen! my family’s salivating while watching your segment!

  44. oh boy! it’s almost 12 midnight, i’m hungry and i chance upon this post. argh! i am pratically drooling and craving for cebu lechon!

  46. hi, just finished watching NO RESERVATIONS PHILIPPINES-that was great! i can’t wait to see the Jessica soho segment. cingratulations on a job well done!

  48. too bad i didn’t get to see the segment on kapuso mo, jessica soho since i was on the plane back to manila at the time of airing. marketman, i was the one who approached you at breakfast in marco polo plaza cebu. :)

  49. I have been following your blog for a couple of months now, especially after your terrific PAN DE SAL recipe (which, weirdly, I made at night).

    And of course being a fan, I awaited for the Jessica Soho segment, and finally saw you — SO THAT’S HOW YOU LOOK LIKE MR. MARKETMAN SIR! HeeHee!

    Yummy segment as always! Sad for the cute piggies, Hurrah for our tummies!

  50. Congratulations, MM!!!!

    Loved the presentation of the Lechon. Now that all the other lechon vendors know your secret, I agree you should have patent on the lechon technique. :)

  52. if only our politicians can learn to be as selfless and unassuming like you mm, maybe, just maybe, millions of filipinos can live better lives. more power to you marketman! galing mo!

  55. just watched it on edrid’s blogsite, nagutom tuloy ako. thanks edrid. MM, photogenic ka pa rin. and your Pilipino didnt sound bad either ;-)

  56. wow….betty q ang dami na nag post ng link for the jessica soho show….just click the link…….at naku ma i inggit ka sa lutong ng lechon……..

  57. Congratulations MM! I am always thrilled every time the Philippines is included in Time’s best of asia list. I was happy that our halo halo was included in the past list. I am ecstatic that lechon has been featured and that i have tasted the very same lechon recipe from the now famous MM.

    Betty q, my email ad is nctvillanueva@yahoo.com and if you cant send through that ad, you may send it to vta.law@gmail.com. My son had his 1st birthday party yesterday and I baked his birthday cake using your chocolate recipe. You would have been proud of me. hehehehehe…

  58. At last, I got the chance to finally the see Mr. MM’s face last Saturday. You look soooo cool ;). I’m regular reader of your blog (well, one of the silent ones). It’s very informative. I even read the comments posted be your readers. Do keep up the good work. Congrats…you’re the man!!!

  59. sana matikman ko din ang accuchon! :D

    bettyq…tama worth dying for ang lechon :D

    122 calories= 1 gram of lechon….who eats 1 gram of lechon???!!

  62. Way to go MM!!! Congratulations once again. I enjoyed the JS feature immensely, of course being a marketmanila fan. I was really wondering how will they introduce your identity as the cause of all these worldwide pinoy lechon clamor. lo and behold it was as simple as your first name as this dude who makes lechon, simple and sweet, nothing more… astig! Blessings follow your good deeds, keep it up!

  63. The sound of the lechon crackling being chopped and munched is the “Best Sound Ever”. Again, well done,MM! Ang cute mo mag tagalog!

  64. To Joey in Dubai: I had the same problem before and realized that going to the gym everyday is not the complete solution. Dieting and exercise go together – one does not work without the other. Don’t get me wrong – that doesn’t mean I don’t pig out on marketman’s delicious recipes because I am a big fan of marketman and have proven that when he says it’s delicious, it really is. I have enjoyed so many of his recipes but I still wear a bikini to the beach at age 50 which I stopped doing for a while because I had a fat belly but now it’s flat. So many people asked what I did so I thought I’d share it here. This is what I do: Mon-Fri, I eat a fruit for breakfast; for lunch, fruits and low-fat cottage cheese; for dinner, garden salad mixed with tofu or cheese for protein but without any meat; almonds for snack, and I hit the gym Mon-Fri and pump heavy weights (60 lbs., muscle burns calories) and do lots of crunches and also pilates. Then on weekends, I try marketman’s recipes and eat whatever I want and still keep my weight down and cholesterol at 140 (pretty good, doctor says). I used to be a lacto-ovo vegetarian (meaning I ate only plant food and also eggs and dairy products) for 2 years before coming here to the US and then gave it up for a while for the love of steak but could not go back anymore but at least now, I am able to do it Mon-Fri. but I tell you, those were the best days of my life – full of energy, no high blood pressure and low cholesterol level and very lean body. After gaining weight, I developed high blood pressure and after losing 25 lbs., blood pressure went down and doctor had to cut down my bp medicines and will hopefully be weaned out of it. I’m not sure if what I said here would be nutritionally sound for you or others so I don’t recommend it but it worked for me. I don’t feel deprived at all because I eat all I want on weekends and because my stomach is already used to light meals on weekdays, I get easily full with rich foods and could eat only smaller portions of it. I enjoy marketman’s recipes, which are superbly delicious by the way, and still try to stay healthy by God’s grace, keeping a balance of everything. Anyway, just wanted to share how I beat my struggle with belly fat.

  65. HURRAY!! very good segment on you and your technique, MM!!

    this sunday, there was a pinoy party, and our lechon, surprisingly, was GOOD! i ate lots of grams of skin!! it had lemongrass stuffing, so it smelled good, and most of the skin was crisp. good lechon is rare here in the US

  66. A “lechonicles” of the experience and experiment with lechon, which we viewers anticipated everytime you posted about it. It was well worth it, Pig Man! Kudos!

  67. i have not been visiting this site for a few weeks now, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that jessica soho episode.

    that skin of lechon looks like it came from a lechon kawali. i so want to try it!

  68. really very very proud of you as i always say!

    keep up the good work, you are really an inspiration :D

    to joey in dubai…let me know if you need some help…i got the answer for that

  70. I’m hoping to watch it via youtube this week, im so excited MM!. By the way, im sure you’re getting this question a lot – how about venturing to “Lechon business” MM? :) I could be your taste-tester! hehehe. But seriously speaking, any plans???

  71. Your passion for food (and lechon) led to something much bigger and that is the recognition of Filipino food as something that should not be overlooked.

    Great comprehensive story on the lechon, or I say great journey. I’m definitely enjoying the ride.

  72. Hey,saw the Jessica Soho show this morning.
    Good thing GMA show repeats of their shows here in Australia.
    My husband saw it as well before he left for work.
    Now he has decided to”ressurect”our lechonan.
    He cooks really yummy lechon Cebu style but because he is so busy at work at the moment our lechonan has been put in “semi-retirement”.
    Also we came back from our 2 month holiday sa Pinas(Leyte) so there was a bit of a lechon overload there for awhile.
    But the lechon you cooked looked so yummy!!!
    Well done Marketman!

  74. I follow your lechon. From backyard activity now your lechon is the beacon of the lechon and captures worldwide attention. Congratulations to your another lechon coverage!

  75. i saw the Jessica Soho episode and I was telling my husband and kids na I know the market man. he he. feeling.

  76. MM…I’m with dHayl here..any plans of putting up an “Accuchon” business? the crunching skin as you cut into it has been replaying in my mind ever since!

  78. I was able to watch the show from Jessica Soho, but ngayon lang nakapag comment.

    Tagal din na focus itong website na ito. Ilan ba dumagdag na visitors since then MM? :)

    Kagutom talaga.

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