In Guts, There's Glory

When Offal Is No Longer Off Limits.

- Maan D'Asis Pamaran

With people wanting to know where ingredients come from and the world extending the effort to have zero waste, nose-to-tail cooking is fast becoming the “in” thing in professional kitchens. Whereas before customers took delight in pork chops, now both chefs and diners have opened their minds and palates to parts such as pig’s ears and tails. Practicality and sustainability, after all, will help keep establishments alive. But while the US has only started embracing the concept the past few years, the Philippines has been enjoying this manner of cooking for generations, evidenced by notable dishes in local cuisine.

WHAT’S OLD IS NEW

Chef Robby Goco, who has been serving diners with his innovative nose-to-tail dishes at Green Pastures, says that the concept has been around since man started eating meat. “The hunters, when they catch their prey, would eat the heart and brains first. Aside from the fact that these are the parts that would go bad first, they believed that they can get the bravery and the cunning of the animal.” Other parts like the spleen and tripe would be eaten next because they spoil easily, he adds.

Only after eating the organ meat would they eat the parts like the loin. “In the Philippines, it is economical to eat the unpopular cuts. If you think about it, our cuisine really is nose-to-tail: the kare-kare, menudo, crispy pata, sisig, and dinuguan, along with other things like the tuna panga and buntot, the sperm sac of fish. For us, it is a working man’s food,” explains Goco.