Kintoa pork ✦

Porc Kintoa

What it is

When the Ministry of Agriculture listed the Pie noir du Pays basque as endangered in 1981 there were twenty-five sows and a handful of boars left in the entire breed; the fresh meat took its AOC in July 2016 and its AOP the following October. The name is said to come from the quint, the one pig in five that Basque herders owed the Kingdom of Navarre for the right to graze the border valleys.

In the kitchen

The fat is softer and sweeter than Bigorre's and renders faster, so keep the pan fierce and pull the chop at 60 °C — carried further, the very thing that justifies the price runs out into the pan. It needs no marinade, and salt is enough seasoning.

Goes with

Espelette pepper Garlic Piquillo pepper Thyme Onion Cider vinegar Apple Black pepper

Same species

Andouillette Boudin blanc Natural casings Caul fat Chorizo Ciauscolo

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