Go for a healthier meat alternative in turkey ‘sisig’ and ‘adobo’

Posted at 2:49 pm September 05, 2011

Tags: Food Products, Healthy Food and Drinks, Truly Pinoy Food and Drinks

SHARE YOUR STORIES

Got a similar Story? Share it here

See list of businesses related to Food Products

See list of businesses related to Healthy Food and Drinks

See list of businesses related to Truly Pinoy Food and Drinks

By KC Santos

QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA – Just when you thought classic favorites are getting too predictable, these entrepreneurs have come up with revitalized versions of Filipino dishes with the use of turkey meat.

Turkey meat is often used in Western and European gatherings like Thanksgiving and other holidays. For most Filipinos, the turkey is not a very common ingredient particularly for traditional dishes because it is relatively more expensive.

Couple Prime and Gil Quizon aims to change that by establishing Herbest Turkey Products in 2008. The company sells sisig, dinuguan, adobo flakes and taco filling using turkey as pork alternative.

Compared to red meat, turkey meat is considered healthier. It’s very rich in selenium that helps prevent cell damage, which can cause chronic illnesses such as cancer. It is also very high in protein and low in fat which is why it’s ideally included in the diet of most athletes.

Prime says the business is also promoting a sustainable livelihood for residents living in rural areas

“As retirees, we only wanted to keep ourselves busy and live longer healthy lives but in the long run, we realized that this industry can grow if there are more producers of turkey in the Philippines,” Prime says.

Prime is a former educator together with her husband has been lobbying to form a larger turkey-raising industry in the countryside. While Gil, as the designated farmer, takes care of raising the turkeys and their farm production in Antipolo, Prime focuses on product development.

She experiments by using turkey to make gourmet meat products like ham and kielbasa.

“In the process of making these products, we realized we merely disposed the excess parts of the turkey. That’s where I got the idea of making it into local dishes that make use of the same excess parts,” says Prime who schooled herself to learn how to cook traditional Filipino food such as sisig and dinuguan.

Prime pushes her innovative ideas further by making burger patties out of turkey meat which she flavors using organic herbs. She sells these as mini-sandwiches (150 pesos) at outdoor organic souks and tries to educate consumers on what constitutes healthy eating choices.

“I don’t just sell. I let customers know how turkey meat is better especially in a time when people would rather have junk food or fast food to last a day,” Prime says.

Prime makes use of free-range turkey and fresh produce picked from their farm to ensure that the freshness is maintained and for customers to get value for their money.

“When customers ask me to compare the price of our turkey with the price of imported turkey, I tell them without blinking that ours is more expensive. I’d rather sell a product that I know is genuinely fresh than compromise the trust of the customer by selling it cheap but them getting less,” Prime says.

When not in trade fairs, Prime and Gil are often seen at organic weekend market at Centris Walk in Quezon City where they market their bottled turkey products from P150 to P250. Prime says they are currently looking for ways to make these affordable to even more Filipinos.

Though their turkey-based products are still in the development stage, Prime says they are confident the products are able to capture the tastes of Filipinos.

“I hope more Filipinos will realize that more important than living a long life is living a healthy and quality life,” Prime says.

Get more information about Herbest Turkey Products