Looking for the best Czech pork? Choose Přeštice Black Pied pork
Amaso: Guaranteed quality meat
It would be a great trick for a butcher to be able to recognise pork from the supermarket just by looking. That's why butcher František Kšána from Amaso advises you to ask! Ask the sellers where their meat comes from, and if they know anything about the breeding. You should be interested to know if it is a purebred pig or a crossbreed, and keep an eye on the price.
"When you buy meat from a crossbreed, you have the right to ask where the crossbreed came from. The seller simply has to be able to prove the information, at least from the delivery note," emphasises František.
The luxurious pig
This breed of Czech pig originated from the West Bohemian region, taking its name from the town of Přeštice in 1964. In the 1940s, and also around the year 2000, Preštice Black Pied pigs almost disappeared poor economic value, today the breed is slowly but surely returning to to its original numbers.
Amaso in Jenč is the largest buyer of purebred black pied pigs in the Czech Republic, processing 60 pieces each week, i.e. around 5.5 tonnes of pork meat and bones. They take their pigs from breeding farms controlled by the Research Institute of Animal Production (VÚŽV). These include the Mladotice Agricultural Cooperative, ZD Libčany and Žihelský statek.
Preštice Black Pied pigs are characterised as a flap-eared. Their ears, unlike the ears of modern pigs, are not always pointed to attention, but 'fold'. It is a saddle type of pig, its back decorated with a white stripe or scruff and its head with black bristles that hold the skin firmly.
Unlike modern pigs, the piglet requires a more fibre-intensive diet. Not only does this result in firm skin and musculature, but at the same time, remains beautifully succulent once slaughtered. "When I hold a pork chop in my hand, I can already tell by feel that the meat and fat are firmer than those of a normal pig. But it is half the size," says František Kšána, describing his experience as a butcher.
The meat is not accompanied by a 'pig smell'
While some of us may have given up on pork because of its unpleasant smell, most of us eat it thanks to the process of castration – that's the difference between a pig (castrated male) a boar (uncastrated male). In the Czech Republic, both pigs and boars can be found, whereas in Spain, for example, castrating pigs is rather the exception. "Although castration, i.e. the natural reduction of testosterone prevails here, neither is explicitly bad," adds František.
Price as an indicator
For many years, pork has been considered a cheaper source of protein. When it comes to the Preštice Black Pied pig, this logic must be set aside. The slaughter of these pigs is economically far more demanding than other breeds. The slaughterhouse gets less meat from the pig, but more fat, and the black-bristled skin is rather unsuitable for further use.
Less is more
"It is better to eat less meat that is locally reared and locally slaughtered than to consume kilos of low-quality meat from imports every day," František highlights the Ambiente's view on Czech pork.
And this is the logic that has always worked with the Preštice Black Pied pig. While the butcher gets three-quarters of the meat from a 110-kilogram modern pig and only one-quarter is offcuts and "waste", the Preštice Black Pied yields up to a third less meat and even more by-product, partially unmarketable. And even despite that the animal headed for slaughter with the same 110 kilograms in weight.
Do you want to know more about the Přeštice Black Pied pig? Listen to the Remarkable Resources Fan Club and find out why the only way to save the pigs is to is to eat them.
