Been wanting to try some Iberico pork from Spain for quite some time. I usually covet the cooks that Henrik does when he smokes a cut from one of these world renowned pigs. Whenever I got the urge to follow suit, I'd look at the price and felt it was a little too steep for my budget. This time; however, I caught a sale at an on line meat purveyor in Seattle called Marx Foods so decided to give some ribs a try. As a side note, Marx Foods has an excellent service. Your overnight shipping is free with any order, you pick the day and boom, you get your meat! Very prompt compared to some we've witnessed.
So what exactly is Iberico pork?
To be honest I didn't know much so did a little reading up on this animal. They are a variety of free range pigs that are only native to the Iberian Peninsula (which consists of Spain and Portugal). As a breed they are said to be ancient in origin, their ancestors probably roamed parts of Europe and the Middle East for the better part of 12,000 years. It's a large breed of pig, somewhat tan, gray or red in color with spindly legs.
What makes these pigs special and so highly coveted is their diet and how their body processes food. As I mentioned they are generally free ranging so they tend to be leaner than our domesticated pig. They forage on various grasses, bugs, nuts and mushrooms but in the fall, they gorge themselves on acorns found in the oak forests (or dehesa) found throughout the region.
The result can be noticed when you first open a package and see the meat. It's first of all very fatty (more on that in a minute) with the meat itself being reddish in color. It almost looks like beef back ribs instead of the pale tan color of our pork. Because of their natural environment and this particular diet, they definitely have a nuttier flavor to the meat. I found it to be quite delicious.
As to the fat, I did not know and was quite surprised to learn that the genetics of this animal produces fat the same way as the Japanese Wagyu cattle do. In fact they sometimes refer to this breed as the Wagyu of pork. The pig's body converts what they eat into a monounsaturated fat consisting largely of Oleic acid (same as found in olive oil for instance). You can literally feel it melting between your fingers with a gentle rub of a small piece of it. Needless to say, the health benefits over other fatty pork, is another reason for superiority.
There's also a LOT of fat, both intra and intermuscular. I ended up cutting about a quarter pound of the surface fat off each rack, it just didn't seem very appealing. Here are my racks after a 24 hour dry brine;
How did they cook?
I was a little concerned about a couple of things. First (and maybe it was the particular ones I ordered) these were really thin, with no where near the amount of meat we're used to on domesticated pork. That is somewhat to be expected on a free range animal I suppose. The other concern was the amount of fat and how that would render (or really over render) while cooking, leaving the meat dry.
So I cooked them low and slow. I set my Fireboard and fan to 225* and held it there throughout the cook. I spritzed with apple cider vinegar every 45-60 munities. When I got 3 hours in they looked really good, great color, but needed a bit more tenderizing. I wrapped them in foil for the last 30 minutes and let them rest in my oven foiled while I finished the rest of the meal.
Came out perfect, awesome bark, with that nutty taste I described above. The fat felt a lot like eating Wagyu, an almost oily feel rather than a fatty feel in your mouth or on you fingers, if you know what I mean. For flavor and overall eating experience I would defiantly rate them as high, or higher than even the best Berkshire or Duroc pork I've ever had.
So what's the downside?
Are these ribs (or other cuts) really worth the bother to source? I would say it depends. My biggest complaint was the thinness of the meat on the ribs. Normally I'd eat maybe 4-5 ribs from a St. Louis rack of Berkshire, my normal pork rib rack. These I gobbled up at least 6-8 to get the same about of meat satisfaction. The price can be a bit steep as well. These on sale were right at $10/pound delivered to my door. Obviously that's quite a bit more than even Berkshire or Duroc. Considering the weight of the bones, that puts the cost right up there with American Wagyu beef for sure.
So was the bang for the buck there, was it worth sourcing these little gems? I say, hell ya !! I'm not going to make them my main squeeze but I did order 6 racks so I get to enjoy these at least two more times before I have to decide. But bottom line, they are a very good product for the money with my source supplier being top notch.
I can't wait to try some other cuts. They break down the shoulder muscles into the pluma, the prima and the secreto cuts. The tenderloin is called the solomillo. Also available are the familiar rib cuts and the belly where pancetta is derived. If you get the opportunity, I would encourage you to give these a try. I think you'll find them well worth the effort and expense.
Troutman is out, need to get back to gorging on Iberico ribs !!!
So what exactly is Iberico pork?
To be honest I didn't know much so did a little reading up on this animal. They are a variety of free range pigs that are only native to the Iberian Peninsula (which consists of Spain and Portugal). As a breed they are said to be ancient in origin, their ancestors probably roamed parts of Europe and the Middle East for the better part of 12,000 years. It's a large breed of pig, somewhat tan, gray or red in color with spindly legs.
What makes these pigs special and so highly coveted is their diet and how their body processes food. As I mentioned they are generally free ranging so they tend to be leaner than our domesticated pig. They forage on various grasses, bugs, nuts and mushrooms but in the fall, they gorge themselves on acorns found in the oak forests (or dehesa) found throughout the region.
The result can be noticed when you first open a package and see the meat. It's first of all very fatty (more on that in a minute) with the meat itself being reddish in color. It almost looks like beef back ribs instead of the pale tan color of our pork. Because of their natural environment and this particular diet, they definitely have a nuttier flavor to the meat. I found it to be quite delicious.
As to the fat, I did not know and was quite surprised to learn that the genetics of this animal produces fat the same way as the Japanese Wagyu cattle do. In fact they sometimes refer to this breed as the Wagyu of pork. The pig's body converts what they eat into a monounsaturated fat consisting largely of Oleic acid (same as found in olive oil for instance). You can literally feel it melting between your fingers with a gentle rub of a small piece of it. Needless to say, the health benefits over other fatty pork, is another reason for superiority.
There's also a LOT of fat, both intra and intermuscular. I ended up cutting about a quarter pound of the surface fat off each rack, it just didn't seem very appealing. Here are my racks after a 24 hour dry brine;
How did they cook?
I was a little concerned about a couple of things. First (and maybe it was the particular ones I ordered) these were really thin, with no where near the amount of meat we're used to on domesticated pork. That is somewhat to be expected on a free range animal I suppose. The other concern was the amount of fat and how that would render (or really over render) while cooking, leaving the meat dry.
So I cooked them low and slow. I set my Fireboard and fan to 225* and held it there throughout the cook. I spritzed with apple cider vinegar every 45-60 munities. When I got 3 hours in they looked really good, great color, but needed a bit more tenderizing. I wrapped them in foil for the last 30 minutes and let them rest in my oven foiled while I finished the rest of the meal.
Came out perfect, awesome bark, with that nutty taste I described above. The fat felt a lot like eating Wagyu, an almost oily feel rather than a fatty feel in your mouth or on you fingers, if you know what I mean. For flavor and overall eating experience I would defiantly rate them as high, or higher than even the best Berkshire or Duroc pork I've ever had.
So what's the downside?
Are these ribs (or other cuts) really worth the bother to source? I would say it depends. My biggest complaint was the thinness of the meat on the ribs. Normally I'd eat maybe 4-5 ribs from a St. Louis rack of Berkshire, my normal pork rib rack. These I gobbled up at least 6-8 to get the same about of meat satisfaction. The price can be a bit steep as well. These on sale were right at $10/pound delivered to my door. Obviously that's quite a bit more than even Berkshire or Duroc. Considering the weight of the bones, that puts the cost right up there with American Wagyu beef for sure.
So was the bang for the buck there, was it worth sourcing these little gems? I say, hell ya !! I'm not going to make them my main squeeze but I did order 6 racks so I get to enjoy these at least two more times before I have to decide. But bottom line, they are a very good product for the money with my source supplier being top notch.
I can't wait to try some other cuts. They break down the shoulder muscles into the pluma, the prima and the secreto cuts. The tenderloin is called the solomillo. Also available are the familiar rib cuts and the belly where pancetta is derived. If you get the opportunity, I would encourage you to give these a try. I think you'll find them well worth the effort and expense.
Troutman is out, need to get back to gorging on Iberico ribs !!!
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