Duroc Ham

Every day we find in any supermarket offers of Duroc Ham as an alternative to Serrano ham or jamón ibérico, but what is Duroc ham? How is Duroc ham different from Serrano Ham? Is Duroc ham jamón ibérico ?

We are going to try to answer these and other questions here.

Why the Duroc breed?

The correct name of the Duroc breed is Duroc-Jersey as it is a new breed resulting from a cross of two breeds specially developed in North America; the Old Duroc and Red Jersey breed. The development of a new pig breed is always carried out in search of benefits for the producer and the consumer.

What characteristics does the Duroc pig have?

These are animals with an easy adaptation to the environment, greater resistance to diseases, high reproductivity, rapid growth and high conversion of the food consumed into meat. From this perspective, the farmer has achieved a very profitable animal.

These conditions have allowed the Duroc breed to spread rapidly throughout the world and is now very popular not only in the USA, but also in Europe and some areas of Africa and Asia. The DUROC pig arrived in Spain at the beginning of the 70s of the last century.

The Duroc pig is an animal with reddish fur and medium size. Its head is small compared to the size of its trunk. The pointed, floppy ears.

In addition, their hoof may be black. But let's not confuse, it will never be a pata negra pig, a term reserved exclusively for the 100% ibérico bellota-fed pig.

What does a Duroc ham look like?

For the consumer, Duroc ham contains a higher fat infiltration, which makes a juicier Duroc Serrano ham. In addition, slaughter at an early age guarantees tender Duroc meat.

What is the difference between a Serrano ham and a Duroc ham?

The term Serrano ham corresponds to a TSG - Traditional Speciality Guaranteed that establishes a quality regime to be complied with in the production of a ham. Conditions of production and use of traditional recipes that are used to be called Serrano ham, without taking into account the conditioning factors of origin.

Currently, the development of an I.G.P. for Serrano ham is being studied.

Only producers who comply with the production conditions and recipes, certified by an independent control entity, may use the Serrano Ham denomination and the community symbol that differentiates it. All Serrano ham must have a minimum of 7 months of curing.

A ham that does not comply with the specifications of the TSG of Serrano Ham must be called Cured Ham.

Within the category of Cured Ham and taking into account the curing of the piece we can talk about:

• Cava Ham or Cellar Ham with 9 months of curing Aged Ham or Reserve Ham with a minimum of 9 months of curing Gran Reserva ham with more than 15 months of curing, in some cases reaching 24 months of curing
• Serrano ham can come from breeds; Landrace, Large White, Pietrain. These are breeds with pinker skin, shorter and thicker legs. In addition, these breeds, due to their genetic development, accumulate less subcutaneous fat and infiltrate less intramuscular fat. Leaner but less tasty meats.
• Serrano ham is also obtained from Duroc hams, which would differ from the previous ones in that greater amount of fat infiltrated in its meats.

Therefore, the term Duroc ham is giving us clues about the breed of the piece we buy. So a Serrano ham can be a Duroc ham in turn, but not all Serrano hams will be Duroc hams.

As a curiosity, the MAPA - Spanish Ministry of Agriculture annually awards the prize for the best Serrano ham in Spain. In 2019 this award went to a Duroc Gran Reserva ham from Trevélez. The highest quality cured ham on the market.

What is the relationship between Duroc ham and jamón ibérico?

For decades, pig farmers have ibérico been looking for an improvement in the profitability of their farms. In addition, the increase in the demand for ibérica and jamón ibérico meat made it necessary to increase the productivity of the pig breed ibérica to serve an expanding market.

To achieve this objective and after testing different alternatives, the Duroc-Jersey pig was selected as the best option and this appears in RD 4/2014 of the ibérico standard that establishes the Duroc-Jersey breed as the only compatible breed for crosses with Iberian mothers.

Therefore, 100% Duroc males are crossed with 100% Iberian mothers to obtain 50% Iberian pigs from which we will obtain 50% Iberian hams.

If the boar is 50% Duroc and 50% ibérico, the animals that will be obtained are 75% ibérico breed and thus their shoulders and hams will be 75% ibérica breed.

Why Duroc ham?

As we have mentioned, Duroc ham achieves a fatty infiltration that is not present in other white layer ham. We have already learned that in Duroc Ham we get a meat with a greater intensity of flavor.

It is also a low-sodium ham, rich in vitamins, zinc, phosphorus and logically an important source of protein and potassium. By eating Duroc ham we are strengthening our bones and immune system.

If we want to buy a Duroc ham with a reinforced quality we recommend you buy a Trevélez de Juviles IGP ham that only the Duroc breed ham is used to obtain these recognized quality marks of the Alpujarra of Granada.

If we are looking for a Duroc ham without nitrites or nitrates, you should know that all Trevélez ham is made without these preservatives. It is a good option for the gift of a healthy, quality ham at a good price.

Where to buy Duroc Ham online at the best price?

At ibericomio we have a great selection of Duroc hams from different producers and even Duroc Ham from Trevélez.

The opinions of our customers of Duroc ham will help you choose the best producer.