Mangalica

Yesterday someone gave me some Mangalica pancetta and I am pretty excited.  Mangalica pigs are a pretty unique in that they have curly, bristly hair and an obscene amount of extremely flavorful fat.  Originally from Hungary these pigs were almost extinct in 1991, but now they have stable population of 50,000 plus pigs.  It is an ideal breed for curing and charcuterie work because of it's high fat content.  The fat is wonderfully creamy and very intense.  While the fat is the main allure for many cooks, the meat takes a back seat to no other breed of pig.  Mangalica's easily have the most marbled pork I have ever seen and the red tinged meat could be easily mistaken for beef (to an untrained eye of course).

Back to the pancetta.  Pancetta is a cured belly, usually found rolled...a rolled bacon if you will.  You can see very clearly that this is a fatty pig by the dominance of the fat to meat in the layering of this belly.  This is my first time using the pork (I have eaten it quite a few times) and so far I am very pleased.  I am already working on getting a whole pig so I can go charcuterie crazy, even if it means raising my own.  If and when this happens I will be sure to document the whole process, from butchering to prosciutto.

Now I have to go talk my wife into letting me have a wooly pig.  Some would think this is an impossible task, but I know all of my wife's weaknesses and my charcuterie is one of them...