What is Carrillada?

Carrillada is a classic stew of Spanish pork cheeks that is often eaten in the Madrid area. There you will often find this stew on the menu Carrilleras de cerdo ibèrico or Carrillada Ibérica. Iberico pork belly is perfect meat for slow cooking and is often cooked in red wine or beer. Takes some time, but then you get something. Nice weekend spend, right? In any case, pork cheeks are on the rise, but from Ibérico you can also get the cream of the crop.

Carrillada Iberico

Ibérico pork belly is called carrillada and is truly stew meat at its best. Iberico pigs - or: Cerdo Ibérico - come from the south of Spain and can be recognized by their black hooves. Iberico is considered one of the tastiest free-range breeds in the world and this has to do with feed and a genetic characteristic that allows the intramuscular fat to be distributed well. Iberico pigs live outside and eat grass, herbs, roots and sometimes olives. During the very dry summer months they are supplemented with grain. But the real work begins in the autumn, when the acorns (bellotas) fall from the cork and holm oaks in the area. Because it is those acorns that give Iberico meat that characteristic taste. During that period, Iberico pigs eat kilos of acorns per day, allowing them to grow to an impressive 160 - 180 kilos in a short time. The meat of Ibérico pigs is spicy and fatty, largely mono and polysaturated, so the meat is also rich in nutrients. Another advantage of the Ibérico pig. Carrillada Iberico is stew like you have probably never eaten before. A must-try!