SECRETO IBÉRICO – PORK STEAK (2 LB PIECE)

This highly grained piece stands out for its wonderful flavour and texture. Secreto could be called a pork skirt steak due to its similar properties to beef skirt steak. Secreto is sold by the piece, and each piece weighs estimated approximately 1.5 lb. Sizzle this thin cut on the grill and the fat will immediately start to melt away, bathing the pork in acorn flavored juiciness. Ibérico de Bellota pork is famed for its beautiful marbling and no other cut displays this more deliciously than the ‘secreto’. While it comes from the shoulder area, it has a lot of similarities to a tender skirt steak. Indigenous black Ibérico pigs wander the ‘dehesa’ forests of southwest Spain munching on herbs, grasses and most importantly, acorns. Not only are they the happiest pigs on earth, but this diet adds wonderful flavor to the pork. And all that exercise fosters the marbling that makes Ibérico so special. The acorn and herb flavored pork is high in mono-unsaturated fats that melt at low temperatures, and is more healthy than the fat from normal pork. The ‘secreto’ has so much marbling it has a bit of a bacon-like flavor, but much more complex because of the grasses, herbs and acorns on which the animals grazed. The ‘secreto’ cut is a small, thin cut that is hard to locate on the pigs, thus the name. It should be grilled or cooked in a cast iron skillet at medium high heat. Serve with a good red wine and crusty bread to mop up the juices.