It was my daughter’s 10th birthday last week and she asked to eat as though on safari in Africa… yikes! 
She is more of a carnivore than a herbivore these days so the best I could do was a tapang baboy damo (wild boar meat) with fried eggs and rice for breakfast! Actually, it was a brilliant and inspired choice! The meat was superb… very tasty and flavorful, marinated with lots of garlic, salt and sugar, semi-dried and perfect when fried up with a little vegetable oil. The meat was caramelized all over and looked, smelled and tasted fantastic. Dipped in a bit of native vinegar, you could close your eyes and imagine you were in some sunny rainforest clearing munching on a wild boar you had wrestled to the ground with your bare hands just hours before (yeah, right!)…
The baboy damo tapa was brought down from the Northeastern part of 
Luzon around Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya. The vendors weren’t sure how the boar were caught but I suspect these are “domesticated†wild boar raised on farms precisely to end up as cured tapa. Whatever their circumstances before their demise, they tasted great. Now I know why Asterix and Obelix are constantly hunting and roasting wild boar… At PHP290 for half a kilo, this was pricey but worth it. This second photo shows the tapa before it was fried. Next time I am going to have to get some tapang usa (deer meat) to try… don’t worry, they are raised on farms as well. Aha, I have found a brilliant recipe for all those huge deer they used to hunt in the U.S. Northeast when I was there for school… maybe even for neighborhood road kill…
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I tried some exotic game meat like baboy damo and tapang usa along the Tuguegarao highway enroute for our fishing trip last summer. it was my first time and it tasted good and delicious but kinda tough to chew on. They had adobong sawa (python) and Bayawak as well but I dont think Im ready for that anytime soon. :)
Yup, forgot to mention the slightly chewier than normal texture or nature of the wild boar meat. And I am with you, lets leave the snakes and lizards for the board game instead…
Hi! Do you know where I can buy tapang baboy damo in manila? Thanks!
marketman, it brough back memories of tapang usa from mt. makiling & how lola use to makie it for us. it was perfect for breakfast and taste great. there was no after taste at all.
My daughter sent me this.
As a first-time deer-hunter wannabe, I came home empty-handed. But I think TAPANG BABOY DAMO(domesticated? Hehehe…) will beat venison any old time.
HOW CAN I ORDER IT? At PESOS290/lb,or $5.50, it cost less than prime USDA-approved rib-eye steak.
if you want to buy baboy damo or to be a baboy damo meat dealer..i will supply in big volume…just email king_arthur4200@yahoo.com
i tried tapang usa before&since then i never forgot this mouth watering stuff.can you give me the formula or ingredients on how to prepare tapang usa or tapang baboy damo so i will try to do it on my own.right now i’m here in saudi arabia & planning to be home by december 06.by that time i want to try something diff. to cook to enjoy my short term vacation.
thank you very much & mabuhay!!!!!!
rey
rey, I have never made the tapang usa or baboy damo from scratch…I wouldn’t have known where to buy the fresh meat. But I suggest you use your short holiday wisely and buy the stuff already made…they are available at the Salcedo Market in Makati, and at the Lung Center market in Quezon City… Both markets are good sources of a lot of traditonal kakanins, ensaimadas, yemas, etc. that all balikbayans go crazy over…
i have tasted tapang usa before at bobby magee’s (just shows how old i am!!!) and it was good.. it was better than tocino and tapang baka.. i ordered it for my mrother-in-law who just came from the US.. said he wanted to taste something different…he loved it!! how i wish it was a lot cheaper to buy though…
if you are in manila and looking for tapang usa or baboy damo, blue kitchen in Shang has some frozen that can be cooked. if you are lucky and want the fresh stuff, try going to the weekend market over at northeast greenhills along conneticut dr. My tita bought some a few weeks ago there, also cleaned and skinned frogs for adobong palaka can be found there at times
If you get to visit Iligan City (a city at Lanao del Norte part of Northern Mindanao)you can get fresh baboy damo meat for about Ps 125.00 per kilo as of this date.
hi everybody! im selling marinated baboy damo(wild boar)meat at P160/kilo and marinated usa(deer) meat at P 180/kilo.-for If interested please contact )0928 485 4424. or send me mail at msvhayley@yahoo.com
Hali
Cagayan de Oro City