Last week, I was invited to the introduction of Pamora Chicken. Pamora Chicken offers 100% chicken with no hormones, no antibiotics and no chemicals.
They claim to be the only one in the country to offer a totally chemical-free, truly free-range chicken. So what’s different?
We were served lunch at James & Daughters by Le Jardin in BGC, and all the dishes showcased Pamora chickens. What everyone immediately noticed was the more chicken-y flavor of the chicken. More below.
WHAT MAKES PAMORA CHICKENS DIFFERENT?
The Pamora Farm is located in Abra, and is managed by Ms. Tina Morados. Pamora Farm is a Filipino–European venture which started to raise free-range chicken in the year 2000. Initially, the objective was for their families to have their our own source of organically grown chicken. Then other relatives and friends got wind of what they were doing and started ordering. This customer base grew to friends of friends, including foreign residents in Manila who had tasted the Pamora free-range chicken. The name, Pamora was derived from the combination of their family names, PApillon and MORAdos.
Tina Morados also has won some awards for her work – she was awarded “Knight in Order with Merits in Agriculture” (Chevalier du l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole) by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (Le Ministre de L’Agriculture et de La Peche) in 2008. This prestigious award was established in 1883, second only to the Legion of Honour within the French order of precedence. It is given to those with outstanding contributions to agriculture. It is rarely awarded to non-French nationals. Tina is also among those featured in Joey Concepcion’s Go Negosyo book published in 2013, 50 Inspiring Stories of Agri-Entrepreneurs.
Here’s a quick list of how Pamora’s chickens are different:
- the chickens are raised following the French Label Rouge standards – it emphasises quality attributes such as taste and food safety and free-range production practices. The average consumer can note a positive difference in taste between Label Rouge and conventional poultry. The breeds they use are also different, Pamora uses the L’Aquitaine and naked neck breeds.
- while conventional commercial chickens are harvested sometimes as early as 26 days, Pamora’s premium chickens (1 – 1.850 kg) are grown for a minimum of 81 days. Pamora’s chickens are allowed to grow naturally, with access to the ground, grass, insects, soil, etc… they are allowed to roam and get exercise, and because of this, Pamora Chickens only have 8% body fat vs. the up to 29% body fat of conventional chickens. Buti pa siya 8% body fat lang
- Pamora Chickens are not given any hormones or antibiotics. Instead, the chickens are fed herbal concoctions from organic herbs to boost their immune system. The herbs include oregano, ginger, chili, lemongrass and kakawate. They also use charcoal powder. These prevent the chickens from getting sick.
- Pamora has their own chicken dressing plant that uses air-dry chilling to chill the meat. It is the only dressing plant in the Philippines that caters exclusively to free-range chickens, and is compliant with EU standards. Almost all other chicken dressing plants in the country use water-chilling, where the chickens are soaked in iced water with chlorine for 2-3 hours. So, no matter how free-range or organically a chicken is raised, if it is dressed and chilled via water-chilling with chlorine, it will be watery and be tainted with chlorine.
- All these make Pamora chickens more flavorful.
SOME OF THE DISHES MADE USING PAMORA CHICKENS
Here are some dishes prepared by Chef Jonas Ng of James & Daughters by Le Jardin.
Chef Jonas Ng introducing the dishes made with Pamora products:
My favorite was this Pamora Chicken Oyster Satay. Chicken oysters are the two small, oyster-shaped pieces of dark meat that lie on either side of a whole chicken’s backbone. They are considered the best part of the chicken. These were springy and so flavorful! Chef Jonas shared his recipe below.
James & Daughters by Le Jardin Pamora Farm Iberian Chicken – their version of Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
Pamora Chicken Leg and Thigh Biryani
Poached Pamora Egg
Pamora Egg Dessert Duo – classic creme brulee and Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream
WHERE TO BUY PAMORA CHICKENS + PRICING
With such a background, you’d expect the price to be premium, too, and it is.
Pamora also sells paté which are creations of Gérard Papillon using old fashion recipes from his grandmother Jeanne Papillon.
Here are some photos of the frozen Pamora chickens:
I noticed immediately that the Pamora chicken pieces were leaner and smaller than what I’m used to seeing at the supermarket. However, consider that the chickens are all raised naturally, without any growth hormones, and have no added water.
Pamora chicken is served at James & Daughters by Le Jardin (BGC), Sagana Restaurant (BGC), Guidivilla Inc. (Alabang), The Peninsula Manila Hotel (Makati), City Of Dreams, Novotel Manila, Element Boutique Hotel, Marriott Hotel, Makati Shangri-La Hotel.
You can buy Pamora products at Santis Delicatessen (Makati City/ Timog, Quezon City/ San Juan City/ Ortigas, Pasig City/ BGC-Taguig/ Alabang-Zapote/ Sta. Rosa, Laguna/ Silang, Cavite/ Twin Lakes, Batangas), Terry’s Bistro and Gourmet Store (Pasong Tamo, Makati/ Salcedo Village, Makati/ Podium, Ortigas, Pasig City), Echostore (Serendra, BGC, Taguig City / Salcedo Village, Makati/ Centris Walk, Quezon Ave., QC), Jojiberry (Mother Ignacia, QC), Real Food (Molito, Alabang), L’Epicerie Gourmande (Festival Supermall), Billie O’ Naire Corp (Ayala Alabang Village), Mother Earth Deli Basket (Baguio), Rustan’s Supermarket (Makati, Greenbelt, Paseo de Roxas, Century, Alphaland, Uptown Mall BGC, Magallanes, P. Guevarra, Shangri-La Mall, Katipunan, Corinthian Gardens, Gateway Mall, Tomas Morato, The Grove, Evia Lifestyle Center, Ayala Alabang) and Marketplace By Rustan’s (Power Plant Mall, BGC, San Antonio Plaza Arcade, Connecticut). Or order online through gerald.ph and honestbee.ph. You can also visit their stall at the Ayala Alabang Village Saturday Market.
SUMMARY
Pamora Chickens are definitely a cut above the rest. Flavor-wise, it really has a more pronounced chicken flavor compared to bland and watery conventional chicken. As for texture, it is firmer than conventional chickens, but not tough, although Pamora Chickens are more suited to slow and low cooking processes.
Aside from flavor, the other important reason for choosing Pamora chickens is that they are a much healthier alternative to chemical, antibiotic and hormone-laden conventional chickens. If you eat chicken infrequently, this might well be worth the splurge to you. If you have the means to avoid all the hormones and antibiotics that are being pumped into conventional chickens, go for it! 🙂
For me, I would probably splurge on Pamora Chickens for special occasions. At 3x the price of regular chickens, it’s a bit steep to switch our “everyday” chicken to it completely. I do like the smaller chickens – one that can serve 1 whole chicken per person. I think it would be a great to cook for a special dinner for two or something like that 🙂
For more information, you may log on to www.pamorafarm.com, call (02) 257-6834 to 35/ (0917) 537-5639 / (0917) 591-7391 / (0918) 872-6672, email [email protected] / [email protected] or follow them on social media: @pamorafarminc on Facebook, @pamora.farms on Instagram, @pamorafarm on Twitter.
PAMORA CHICKEN OYSTER SATAY
Yield: 15 sticks
INGREDIENTS:
500 g chicken oyster/brined
500 g peanut sauce/prepared
50 g sate sauce/prepared (use your own favorite sate sauce)
25 pcs bbq sticks
BRINE SOLUTION
60 g brining salt or regular salt
80 g brown sugar
5 g kaffir leaves/optional
1000 ml water
PEANUT SAUCE
150 g peanut/roasted
10 g garlic chopped
1/2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp lime juice
10 g coco sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp cayyene pepper
1/3 cup fresh coconut milk
3 cup water
PROCEDURE:
Warm the water in a pot and stir together the salt, sugar, and kaffir leaves, then allow brine solution to cool to room temperature.
Place Chicken Oyster in the brine, cover and refrigerate for two hours.
Drain and pat the chicken dry, mix sate sauce and chopped kaffir leaves, and marinate for 2 hours.
Thread the chicken oyster onto bamboo skewers then cook for 3 minutes.
FOR THE PEANUT SAUCE
Place all ingredients in a food processor and mix well.
