Lardo Ibérico de Bellota

Sliced in super thin, translucent slices, this Ibérico de Bellota Lardo will literally melt on your tongue. Serve on warm toasted bread by itself, or with fresh tomatoes or anchovies for a luxurious tapa.

Ibérico de Bellota Lardo is a beautiful marriage of the finest free-range Spanish pork and a classic Italian recipe. Like jamón or chorizo, fatback is salted, spiced and hung to cure for several weeks. The result is a silky block of perfectly creamy white goodness with a coating of spices.

This is not lard – instead it is a melt-in-your-mouth charcuterie unlike any other. Fatback from Spanish Ibérico de Bellota pork is ideal to make the best lardo. Acorn-fed, free-range Ibérico pigs produce a fatback that is nearly two inches thick. Once it is salted and spiced, the fatback is hung to dry, losing most of its water and transforming into a silky, spreadable block of piggy flavor.

Spain hosts the largest herd of free-range pigs in the world. The pigs of the Ibérico breed have been wandering the “dehesa” rangeland of southwestern Spain for thousands of years, and are one of Spain’s greatest treasures. Not only are they the source for the finest hams in the world, their existence helps preserve the ancient forested rangeland for future generations.

Keep your lardo refrigerated. Serve at room temperature, sliced extremely thinly. Keep in the refrigerator for up to six months unopened. Once opened, wrap tightly when stored and use within a few weeks.