Aged Pork

Pork is normally aged for only two to three days and rarely for more than six. Pigs raised in the open, which grow much more slowly than the ones that are raised in pens, have tougher meat. Consequently, longer aging is needed to ensure that the meat is tender. Some pork is now aged for up to twenty days.

A completely different way to cure pork is using a small quantity of salt and air drying to make ham. The most sublime versions come from Spain and Portugal, where black foot pigs are raised in the Iberian mountains, foraging on the plants of the forest. These fantastically delicious hams are made tender over a period of about eighteen months, using a combination of salting, drying, and ripening with fungi that are present in the surroundings. The ones of the highest quality are firm, but still tender, with uniform marbling made up primarily of unsaturated fats. Thin slices of Iberian ham virtually melt in the mouth.