The Mighty Meaty Hotdog!
A year ago, I wrote an article explaining the difficulties in getting here in Australia the hotdogs Filipinos grew up enjoying.
It is a pleasure to let you know that, nine months after partnering with one of WA’s leading small goods suppliers, Century Pacific has announced that the Swift Mighty Meaty Hotdog will be available in Australia very soon!
Until now, I have not found a hotdog I enjoyed eating since I left Canada over 30 years ago.
What I didn’t realise, is that the Swift hotdog from the Philippines was the same as the Swift hot dog I had grown up enjoying. Although only in the Philippines for 35 years, they originated in America over 150 years ago.
The first step along the way was to find a quality manufacturer with a smokehouse big enough to do the job. A search across all of Australia ensued for the perfect manufacturer and we found them here in Perth.
Meticulous preparation was put in place. To ensure the flavour would be exactly like that in the Philippines, not only was the procedure to be followed exactly, but also all the additives were provided from Century’s facility in Manila.
There was a small hurdle facing us. Filipinos like their hotdog fried and westerners like them steamed.
No one had told the Master Butcher the hotdogs would be fried before eating because all the quality assurance people in Manila naturally assumed that was what everyone did.
The Master Butcher naturally assumed the hotdogs would be steamed because they were smoked and only needed to be warmed, not cooked.
The wrong casing was used in the first trial batch and the hotdog did not fry up very well. In order to preserve the quality ingredients, flavour and juiciness customers would want, a new casing was used.
When the second batch was made, our staff got to try them straight out of the smokehouse. They were absolutely delicious and tasted not only exactly like the Filipinos liked but also exactly like the ones I grew up with.
Subsequent test tasting trials, including locally manufactured hotdogs, confirmed this was the best tasting Filipino hot dog in Australia.
Another company owns the brand name Swift in Australia so the hotdogs will be launched under a different name to be finalised soon.
The beauty of this hotdog is that your favourite way of cooking is the best way of cooking. This hotdog calls back the past, yet somehow shows what the future may hold for Filipino food in Australia. Once the style of packaging and the labels are finalised you’ll be able to have it your favourite way too.
The Filipino Australian Club of Perth Inc is working hard on organising The Grand Filipino Fiesta – Perth. This will be held on Saturday the 29th October 2016 and is the eighth consecutive year this wonderful organisation has been involved in the largest fiesta in WA.
This is an opportunity for all Filipinos to get together for a day and enjoy the varied food, entertainment and sporting events on offer, and we encourage everyone to attend.
This year, there will be chefs conducting food cooking demonstrations and taste testings. This will be a great opportunity to try some of the finest food from the Philippines.
