Everything you need to know about Iberian pork

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Spanish Iberian Pork

If you're not from the Mediterranean region, you may have never heard of Iberian pork from Spain.

In this article we will tell you all about it. Like what makes it taste so good and what's different compared to regular pork. This product is really hard to find because the only place where pork is produced is in the Iberian region of Spain and Portugal.

Where does Iberian pork come from?

Iberian pork comes from pigs from the Iberian Peninsula, a mountainous region covering central and southern Spain and Portugal. You can only find these pigs in this area.

The Iberian pig is a very ancient animal and animal domestication has already existed. Their origins date back to the Neolithic Age, approximately 12,000 years ago.

You will find Iberian pigs living in mountainous areas, often in wild settings or in forests close to their favorite food of acorns, oak trees, and nuts.
Iberian pigs have red to gray skin and little or no hair.

What makes Iberian meat different?

Iberian meat is significantly different from regular pork. When you see it raw, it almost looks like beef. The meat is red to bright red in color compared to regular pork which is white.

The game changer for Iberian pork is the fat. Due to their predominantly acorn diet and genetics, Iberian pigs are able to penetrate large amounts of fat into their muscles, producing tastier pork. In addition to being high in fat, it also contains large amounts of unsaturated oleic fat, the same fat found in olive oil, which is said to lower cholesterol and is an important part of the Mediterranean diet.
When you eat Iberian pork, the marbling of its fat makes it super flavorful and flavorful. The meat is more flavorful, juicy and very distinctive.

Additionally, acorn-based pig feed gives pork a very special flavor. You can taste a unique nutty flavor in Iberian pork, which makes the meat very special. Iberian pork is the richest type of pork you can find. You won't find its flavor and juiciness anywhere else.

What is the breeding process for Iberian pigs?

To make pork taste so special, Iberian pig needs different things. First of all, pigs need to live in open areas in a very natural environment and have the freedom to travel over mountains and ridges, always close to dehesas. By doing this, their muscles develop and grow and are able to infiltrate the fat from the acorns.

During spring and summer, pigs eat grass, mushrooms, bugs, and herbs. Then, from October to March, is acorn season, when the acorns fall from Dejesus.
Acorns are a favorite food of the Iberian pig and it will eat a lot of them. This will build up their fat and penetrate the flavor of the acorns into their muscles.

Is Iberian pork expensive?

It comes from a unique pig breed that can only be found in the Iberian Peninsula. Best of all, the diets are special and the farmers who raise them have certifications that guarantee the quality and authenticity of the pork. Therefore, Iberian pork has a high value and the price is slightly higher than ordinary pork.

In addition, Iberian pigs have smaller litter sizes and produce less meat. They take time to grow. Additionally, pork takes longer to produce.

What pig parts can I find?

Iberian pork is just like any other kind of pork. You can find all the classic cuts of pork:

pork belly
Shoulders and waist
shoulder steak
rib cage
pork rack
Tenderloin

Interestingly, it looks like beef because of the color, so you would think it was a small piece of meat.

Spanish ham classification

In the world of Spanish ham, there are two premium classifications: Iberian pig and acorn-fed pig. Unlike white pig breeds such as Serrano, the black-skinned Iberian pig is a descendant of the Mediterranean wild boar, commonly known as Pata Negra ("black foot") because of the hooves attached to each ham. They are athletic animals, runners and rooters, and their meat is more palatable, juicy and unique due to the structure of intramuscular fat.

Iberian pigs are expensive. They have smaller litters, produce less meat per head, and take time to mature, which is why many ham producers across Spain cross them with other breeds.

Then there are the acorns, or bellota, which fall from oak and cork trees on pig farms from early October to early March. They are high in fat, a large portion of which is unsaturated oleic acid, and eating them makes the pig's fat so tender and creamy that it melts at room temperature. Acorns also contribute to the ham’s nutty flavor and aroma and are as essential to the product as the meat itself. Only 5% of all commercially raised Iberian pigs are

Purebred and acorn fed.

From piglets to pork

Spanish ham culture has its own vocabulary. There were porqueros, instead of shepherds; pigs were "sacrificially sacrificed" instead of being slaughtered; and the farms where they were raised were called dehesas.
The dehesas are national treasures: 1 to 2,000 acres each of forested areas converted to pasture, often hundreds of years old, with rolling grassy hills amid crops of oak and cork trees growing acorns. Just as acorns are an important ingredient in ham, so are dehesas. These pigs need to run around and climb mountains all day long in order to develop muscle and make the ham taste like it does.

Within 18 to 24 months, the pigs will take root around the dehesa, eating grass, mushrooms, bugs, herbs, and whatever they can find. From October to March, the montanara, or acorn-dropping season, begins and the pigs come into action. Fat acorns are the pigs' favorite food, and each pig is allowed to eat 5 acres of dehesa, so there's plenty of room to find them. By the time the pigs are in their second montanara, they will be full and have reached their slaughter weight, which is approximately 360 pounds.

Managing pigs isn’t just a matter of nature. Carvajal inspectors visit anonymously every two to three weeks to check on their treatments and diets. They also sample the pigs' fat to analyze its oleic acid content - too little and the pigs don't meet quality standards, too much and they won't be processed into ham.

You may have heard that pigs are as smart as dogs, or even smarter. In dehesa, they behave more like sheepdogs than sheep. Curious about the new arrivals, they would get closer and closer to me, some even posing beautifully in front of the camera and then dash away. Unlike domesticated livestock that become complicit, these wild boar offspring remain intelligent.

Tags: Iberico pork, 伊比利亞豬