One of the Igorot’s favorite is a salted pig’s
intestines, lungs, liver, and heart. This delicacy is only prepared occasionally
during weddings, house blessing the traditional way, and other traditional
practices that require the butchering of pigs.
On the first day of the occasion when they butcher pigs,
the large intestines to the rectum(The part called Bongsos) and some small intestines are salted, with
some liver, and also the lungs.
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| Cooked Bongsos |
On the third day, a native chicken(chicken that ate natural
foods on the ground) is butchered and cooked together with the salted intestines
and etag(salted fats of pigs cured under the sun or over a cooking place where
firewood is used, for many days or months).
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Etag = Pig fatty parts being dried using heat and smoke
from a firewood
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Family members, relatives, neighbors, and friends come to
partake at breakfast, and lunch during the bongsos day. When there are plenty of it, everyone who
came will be given some pieces of the cooked intestines to take home.
Meticulous salting of the intestines is essential to
achieve the taste and smell required for a perfect bongsos. Not enough salt
will result to a decaying smell destroying its lovable aroma and tastes, and excessive
salt will make it lost its softness and good touch when it’s chewed.
If you ask me which to compare the aroma and taste, I will
give the fresh salted “labahita” or
unicorn fish as the closest to compare with.
Again, the trick to make a perfect bongsos is to clean
the intestines very well with running water to remove all the solid wastes and
dirt and be careful to not let it drop on the ground else you’ll have a gritty
bongsos. Next, put in a wide basin, large enough to mix salt well with the
intestines. Reminder: Do not cut the intestines;
just leave it like when it was washed.
Cut it only when it is cooked and ready to serve.
The salt must be enough to get the saltiness needed and
to avoid the intestines become spoiled. 1/4 - 1/2 kilograms of salt I think is
enough for the intestines of one large pig (enough practice can make it perfect).
After mixing with the salt, put inside a big container, size is according to
the amount of salted intestines. Then
cover it tightly and put it in a corner away from the light of the sun or heat.
Wait for the third day or at least 48 hours before opening it. I say on the third day because the elder
leaders said so, that, the day the pig was butchered is counted as the first
day, the following day as the second, and the following day as the third day.
Leaving the bongsos longer than three days or 60 hours will make it become very soft and easily fall to pieces when cooked which make it not so desirable to eat. Thus, aside from the preparations, the timing of opening and cooking the bongsos is very essential for its perfectness. Also, the parts that taste best are the large intestines, rectum, and the stomach.
To cook it, just put a lot of water in a large pot
depending on the amount of intestines and chicken meat, and the etag will be cooked.
Don’t worry about putting so much water because the bongsos is very salty. There’s
no need to wash it again, though it can be done to reduce its salt. Some cook,
let it boil for five minutes then throw away the water to remove some of the
salt, then they add a new fresh water as the soup.
Now, put in the etag, salted intestines into the water
and bring it to a boil. When the chicken is ready you can also put it at the
same time. Boil for 20-30 minutes or more until all the meat are tender. Just
check it once in a while to not overcook.
