The white pig: breeds and types of consumption

It is not a secret that in Spain pork is based in the top positions of preference among consumers. It is a pink meat, tender and fine fiber.

We find it interesting to deepen the subject and know more characteristics about this animal that we like so much.

Firstly, we will focus on different pork breeds suitable for the production of cured hams and shoulders as for the rest of meat production:

• Large White: It is used in crosses as the maternal line. It facilitates high milk capacity thanks to its high fertility. Meat of excellent quality, defined primarily by juiciness, texture, conformation and color.
• Landrace: With a tendency to present soft, pale and exudative meats. The excellent conformation and dorsal fat thickness stand out from this breed.
• Hampshire: It is usually used as a male line. It improves the quality of the meat by having low water retention.
• Duroc: It has high growth value and high rusticity. High quality of the meat for being quite lean and with fat infiltration.
• Pietrain: It has high quality, although its growth rate is low.

The maturation of this type of meat for habitual consumption compared to, for example, beef is that white pork does not need so much rest for it to be tender and soft. This is because the muscle fibers of these animals are thinner, which may be commercialized shortly after slaughtering.

When buying them by pieces, we must know that the meat from the back is of a top quality, rich in proteins and of good biological value. The front pieces will be second and third category, requiring a longer cooking to make them more tender.

In the case of the maturation of Cured Hams, we talk about different periods:

There are a series of guidelines and regulations that establish quality standards so that these products can be called cured hams and shoulders:

White pigs, from which the different types of cured hams will be produced, must be feed cereal-based and their slaughter age will be around 5-6 months with a weight between 90-110 Kg.

The elaboration process must consist of the following phases:

• Salting
• Washed
• Post-salted
• Curing
• Aging

Its classification will depend on the curing time:

• Hams

  - Bodega: 9 to 12 months

  - Reserva: 12 to 15 months

  - Gran Reserva: more than 15 months

• Shoulder

  - Bodega: 5 to 7 months

  - Reserva: 7 to 9 months

  - Gran Reserva: more than 9 months

Those responsible for monitoring that these requirements is the Spanish Serrano Ham Foundation that works on the protection, improvement, projection and promotion of quality Serrano Ham, differentiating it from the rest of cured hams that are not prepared according to the regulations and that do not guarantee minimum quality required.

We hope we have expanded your knowledge about this magnificent animal. See you in the next post!