The mangalica, also known as mangalitsa or mangalitza, is a breed of pig developed in the 1830s in Austro-Hungary (present day Romania) by crossing two Hungarian pig breeds (the Bakonyi and Szalontai), a Serbian hog breed and the European wild boar. Unlike other pig breeds, it has a thick fur and fares well in cold temperatures.
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| Swallow-bellied mangalica pigs. Photo from Wikipedia. |
There are three varieties, a blonde (yellow to yellowish red hair), a red (reddish brown hair) and a swallow bellied (black hair), and they are born striped like wild boars. The mangalica grows very quickly and produces very well-marbled meat. In fact, it has been deemed the "kobe beef of pork." It has become less popular in recent years as preference by consumers has been for less-fatty pork and most of the fat has been bred out of commercially grown pigs.
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| A striped young mangalica pig. Photo from Wikipedia. |
I got a 10 ounce loin chop from Exotic Meat Market. It did look fattier than the pork regularly available in a supermarket.
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| 10 oz. pork loin |
I cooked it without any special preparation in a ribbed cast iron pan with some vegetable oil. I really dislike over-cooked pork, so against all pork conventions, I cooked it medium-rare. It tasted like traditional pork and was great.
As far as pigs go, those are pretty cute.
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