Hungarian Pigs Famous For Fat

Hungarian Pigs Famous For Fat 33-4-10 Forget about the "other white meat". Chefs in fancy restaurants are starting to look for "extreme fat" hogs. Mangalitsas from Hungary are not just lard-type hogs; they produce a fat so soft that it practically melts in the hand. Uses for it include whipping it like cream for desserts and other special dishes. The marbled pork from the Hungarian hogs sells to restaurants for about $11 per pound hanging weight and $25 per pound retail. Mangalitsa importer Heath Putnam says demand has so far outstripped supply. "I have no trouble selling what we have, but there isn't enough product to have a real feel for how big the demand really is," he says. Putnam owns the only breeding herd of Mangalitsas in North America. He invested more than $150,000 importing a small herd in 2006. Such imports have since been prohibited. Starting out with 24 sows, his breeding herd has since expanded to 100 head. In addition, he's doing some cross breeding with Berkshires. Putnam retains ownership of all females and select males for breeding. "I have three experienced hog producers now breeding hogs for me," says Putnam. "One is in Washington State, and the others are in the Midwest. I am looking for more, particularly guys who used to be breeders, not just hog finishers." Putnam says breeding knowledge is important. The breed has a low birthing average of only 5.5 live pigs. However, the most experienced of his three contract producers has an average above seven. At the prices the pigs command, every piglet is highly valued. Putnam markets 200 to 220-lb. fed hogs and also sells 30-lb. barrows to interested buyers for $240 each. The breed is not fast growing and takes 9 to 12 months to reach the 220-lb. weight. He says some buyers of barrows feed them even longer to higher weights for the best cured products. Putnam warns that even with the high price a hog carcass brings, his hogs aren't like other niche breeds. The unique flavor and still relatively unknown breed means you have to find buyers for each animal and, if possible, for the entire animal. "With Berkshires and other specialty breeds, you can sell loins to a customer and dump the rest on the conventional market," he says. "With the fat level and marbling of the Mangalitsas, you have to sell all of it as specialty products to a select market. It's not like you have people calling up to buy the meat." That may change as awareness and demand continues to build. Mangalitsas are in high demand in Europe. Their high level of unsaturated fat makes them ideal for a traditional air curing process. In Spain, for example, cured Mangalitsa hams can sell for $70 per pound. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Heath Putnam, 1402 Lake Tapps Parkway, E Suite 104 PMB 337, Auburn, Wash. 98092 (ph 253 833-7591; hp@ woolypigs.com; www.woolypigs.com).

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