Understanding Iberico Pork and cuts - 1st Nov 2019
Just like Wagyu, Iberico pork has loads of fantastic intramuscular fat which gives it that outstanding sweet, buttery and rich flavours, and a super delicate and tender texture, hence the term "Wagyu of pork".
We have started to retail at the pork counter Iberico pork that comes from the same award-winning brand, Juan Pedro Domecq, as the Jamon (ham) we have on the second floor.
Juan Pedro Domecq only breeds 100% pure Iberico pigs. On top of that, they go one step further by selecting within the 100% Iberico breed what they consider to be the best – the Lampiño breed which is a near-extinct variety of purebred Iberico pigs.
Their pigs are also wild animals that live free roaming in vast extensions of the company-owned dehesa (acorn woods) for close to two years, having an average of 5 acres per animal. During the acorn season, the pigs enjoy at least 120 days of acorn, more than double the legal requirement of 60 days for it to be called "bellota" – which is pork that is well marbled with an intense flavour and the fat contains more than 55% oleic acids. Only olive oil has more oleic acid than this!
It is a requirement by the Singapore Food Agency that pork from Spain is imported frozen hence all Iberico pork in Singapore comes in frozen. We thaw it for sale at the counter and it is best not to overcook the pork – cook it to medium (60 -65°C) or medium well (66 -70°C).
Freshly introduced to our pork counter are two less-known cuts of the Iberico pork - the pluma iberica and the presa iberica.
The pluma is a cut that is about 200g per piece and each pig only has 2 pieces hence a total
of 400g only. The Iberian pluma is taken from the front part of the loin. It is
triangular and characterised by its extremely lean and tender meat. Due to the lean nature of the meat, it is best to leave the surrounding fat on it when
cooking and even eating. You can then enjoy a meat that melts in your
mouth with a long finish on the palate. It is best pan-fried, grilled or
seared.
The presa cut is of intense garnet colour and weighs about 500g per piece. It is found in the neck section and is the cut used to make ‘Lomito’, a high-quality cured meat that we sell at the air-dried section you can find on our second floor. Presa is abundantly marbled and because of its size, it is ideal for
casseroles, grilling, pan-frying or barbequeing. The presa is the best part of the pig's neck with a tender bite and a balanced meat-to-fat ratio.
As some of you might already know, we have been selling at our pork counter another cut you seldom find elsewhere. This cut is called the Iberico secreto. It is a small and thin cut which is hard to locate on the pig – which is why it is called the 'secret' cut.
This mysterious cut is located behind the shoulder blade and is more fibrous than the cuts above. It is however well marbled and has a lot of similarities to a tender beef skirt steak in terms of texture. Searing, grilling or pan-frying this cut over high heat gives it a good crust and while it is slightly chewy, you get rewarded with all the juices and flavour from the marbling.
Hop over to our Dempsey store now.
