Paula, a 260 pound fat pig, has joined us today. She comes to us by way of Pete & Jen’s Backyard Birds in Concord, MA. As I mentioned in a previous blog that mangalitsas are renowned for their fat. Look at the pictures and note the 3-4 inch thick back fat and the 100 plus pound bin of silky white fat.

In other breeds such as berkshire or tamworth the back fat is not even half as thick or close to as smooth. The fat that we get from the two mangalitsas we received this year will provide us with enough fat for a years worth of sausage making and more lardo than we can even try to use. I do not want mangalitsas every time we get a pig (every 6 weeks or so), there would be way too much fat to try to use. For a 260 pound pig there is really not that much meat, you end up with 40% fat, 25% meat, 25% bones and 10% skin. Every bit will be used, it will just take us a while. Other breeds the meat ratio is much higher and quicker if not easier to utilize.