The Portuguese Black Pork (Porco Preta)

Black Pork

If you travel to Portugal to a villa in Lagos and or rent and apartment in Albufeira your guaranteed to have a wonderful holiday.   But notice all the various lifestyle differences this part of the world has to offer.  Sun and pristine sandy beaches are obvious.  The small differences are hard to see at first and from a culinary view point Porco Preta or black pork is one of those items.


Pork (porco) is everywhere in Portuguese food and, this being a country where very little is wasted, pretty much every part of the pig can be found in one dish or another. Cheap and full of flavour, pork is often eaten pink, which can seem strange to those brought up in countries where this is still seen as dangerous (and not without good reason).

Porco preto ibérico (known in English as ‘black pork’) is sourced from a breed of grey and black pigs native to Portugal’s Alentejo region, which range freely while stuffing themselves full of acorns, resulting in incredible-tasting meat.  Some Portuguese favourite cut of porco preto is secreto – a long, fat-marbled strip that is perfect when cooked over a hot grill with loads of salt on it. Sadly it’s incredibly fattening, so has to remain something of a rare treat rather than an everyday meal!

One recipe  is black pork tenderloin grilled in the aroma of thyme and rosemary

Ingredientes-
One choice piece of black pork tenderloin,
Potatoes peeled and sliced into chunks ,
To garnish meat rosemary &thyme,
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper,
Sweet peppers cored and sliced
3 cloves of garlic,
Half the juice of a lemon ,
To finish a nice Alentejo red wine  and very good company.

Next time you go self-catering Portugal check out the restaurant menu for Porco Preta.
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