Mangalitsa Pork usually trades over the pork you buy in daily grocery stores at a 10x-20x market premium.
A lot of that is due to its marbling and superior taste. We know that Mangalitsa pork tastes better, and why—but why is it so expensive? And are they worth it?
Unlike traditional factory-farmed hogs, most Mangalitsa pigs are raised under different conditions. The pigs are either raised outside the doors or in areas where they are free to roam. Although this leads to greater Hog Satisfaction, this also leads to higher costs of output.
Due to the intra-muscular fat and richer meat flavour, Mangalitsa pork chops taste as well as they do. At Acorn Bluff farms, we drive our pigs less hard at the feeding trough, and instead of the pure growth gene, we refine genetics for taste and taste.
There are trade-offs with everything, and breeders have preferred to seek superior taste instead of prioritising genes that contribute to faster growth but less taste. Mangalitsa (or Mangalica as you will often see it spelt).
More stringent than the traditional factory-bred hog are the breeding programmes and requirements for Mangalitsa.
Optimization is trickier, technique and development are slower, and the emphasis of breeders on quality is much higher. This decreases supply, as demand for Mangalitsa pork skyrockets at the same time.
Mangalitsa hogs are bred and raised for flavour and excellent meat taste (we at Acorn Bluff especially love pork chops and bacon from our hogs near Iowa City).
They are raised in the traditional way, mostly by artisan butchers, and brought to market. This combination of techniques explains why it is more costly for Mangalitsa pork, but also why it is oh so worth it.
