Made from the Duroc breed, its infiltrated fat, its bright color and its texture make it unique. A ham with an intense, tender and juicy flavor due to this fat filtration. It is one of the hams with the best opinions in the world, with nutritional and organoleptic values similar to those of the Iberian ham.
The Duroc pig is a breed that was introduced to Spain in the 1960s, but whose origins date back to the 19th century. With an average weight of 350 kilos in males and 300 in females, floppy ears and a dark red tone. Result of crossing other white pigs, Old Duroc and Red Jersey, this variety appeared for the first time in the United States. It was used as a cross-finishing breed obtaining an infiltration of fat that raised the quality of the ham. This also obtained a higher productivity than other breeds of pigs and a higher yield to the pieces. Another of the advantages of this breed is that it is much more resistant to diseases and infections caused by external pathogens, making it easier to develop in intensive livestock farms.
The Duroc pig has a very significant in the market and is that it is the only breed that is allowed to cross with the Iberian pig. This can occur up to 50% blood. Offering itself to be mixed with the best Iberico DOs, this is because both the Old Duroc and the Red Jersey already have more genetic similarities with the Iberian breed than with other white pigs. So finally the duroc can be found in the production of many of the denominations of origin in Spain. This permission is included in the Iberian Quality regulations (R.D 1469/2007, of November 2). Most of the Iberico production that is marketed in Spain is pig from a Duroc father and an Iberian mother. It is a fairly common practice that must be specified in the label.
