Bagnet: The Pride of Vigan

Posted by The Chubbychef on Aug 28, 2009 in General Food News

Most if not all have tried this sumptuous dish brought to us by the Ilocanos from the north! The sweet crispy and yet succelent pork just oozzess fatty goodness. But do you know how it is prepared? Some mistakenly think that Bagnet is just Lechon Kawali or pan seared pork. Oh how you guys are mistaken. They are nothing alike. What makes Bagnet so special is that it is double fried. Yes you read that right; DOUBLE FRIED. (double the goodness then?)

The concept of bagnet stems from a rich history of Ilocos. Back in the olden days, when a pig was slaughtered all the parts needed to be used in order to minimize wastage. There were no freezers or refs back then to preserve the meat. The Ilocanos then came up with the idea called Bagnettin which means to preserve the meat. They would boil the unused part of the pig and then fry it in a Kawa. (A huge wok) This would preserve the meat for up to 10 days. Since there were no microwaves also during that time, in order to heat the meat they would fry it again. You can even see the skin turning into chicharon. The secret some Ilocanos say is the stock in which you first boil the meat in. This is where the flavor is locked in.

A common misconception with Bagnet is that only the porkloin or porkbelly is used for Bagnet. Although these parts are the best parts, it is not always so. Bagnet is basically ANY part of the pork that is boiled, and deep fried twice. The twice frying is what gives it the unique taste.