Mosefund Farm Finds Market for Exotic Mangalitsas
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 06/19/2009 - 1:23pm.
Tracy Sutton
Zone Editor
BRANCHVILLE, N.J. — They aren’t the prettiest pigs you’ve ever seen. But they could be the tastiest you’ve ever eaten.
Mangalitsa pigs, are the curly-haired sideshow freaks to their conventional pig cousins. Dark, curly, and bristly-haired they look like a mad geneticist’s cross between sheep, Highland cattle, and a pig. Bred during the Austro-Hungarian Empire for their lard, Mangalitsas are not “the other white meat.” Their flesh is dark, marbled with fat, extremely tasty and more akin to eating a fine cut of beef than pork.
Not surprisingly, Mangalitsa is highly sought after by chefs. Until recently, it could only be found in Europe and through one farm in Washington state, but two years ago Mosefund Farm owned by G.C. Andersen in Sussex County, New Jersey began raising Mangalitsas.
That Mangalitsas are even available at all is something of a miracle.
More than a hundred years ago, it was the pork of choice among Hungarians, where it was used to make lard and sausages. But the breed began to die out after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I and Communism nearly decimated it all together when farms became collectives and farmers turned to conventional breeds that were leaner, faster growing and cheaper to raise.
But in the 1980s, Mangalitsas started to make a comeback in Europe. A recent New York Times article credited Peter Toth, a Hungarian animal geneticist for working toward saving the breed. He was quoted:
“When Communism collapsed, the state farms that served as the last gene banks also collapsed. It was a total anarchy in the country. When I started to save Mangalitsas, to search for them in 1991, I found only 198 purebred pigs in the country. Sometimes, I would rescue the pigs right from the slaughterhouse.”
Since then the population has revived to about 50,000.
Mosefund Farm is the only operation on the East Coast to raise Mangalitsas, with about 80 pigs at present. Clearly it is not a breed for the faint of heart. Mangalitsas require more of everything — time, feed, and space. It takes about a year on average to get a Mangalitsa to a butchering weight of 280-300 pounds. They cannot be slaughtered sooner, or the fat doesn’t marbleize. According to Mosefund Farm manager Brent Schicker, they require twice as much feed as conventional breeds and on pasture, “they are the most rootiest pigs ever.”
Pointing to a cordoned pasture, Schicker and Mosefund Farm chef Michael Clampffer showed off their grazing operation. “We thought each area would last the pigs a week (before turning to mud). It lasted about six hours,” said Schicker with some resignation.
Before taking on raising Mangalitsas, Clampffer spent two weeks in Vienna with the Austrian Mangalitsa Breeders Association and visited six farms. “Every farmer has his own little trick that affects the final product,” said Clampffer.
He said in Austria they don’t feed the pigs one day a week, so they will eat what they find.
The Mangalitsas at Mosefund pasture on clover and chicory. “Chicory is a natural de-wormer,” said Clampffer. But the pigs eat no greens before they’re slaughtered. They’re finished on a feed mix of nine parts barley to one part wheat. “Absolutely no corn or soy,” said Clampffer, as it makes the fat greasy. “Corn is a polyunsaturated fat and can make the fat go rancid.”
So far, raising Mangalitsas, what farm manager Schicker calls their “new burgeoning enterprise” has been a great success. “We’re sold out for July.” The farm uses Green Village Packing in Morristown, New Jersey to do their slaughtering and the pigs retail to restaurants for about $10 to $11 a pound, about $3 a pound more than what Berkshire pork, another coveted but more common heritage breed costs. Mosefund also raises Berkshire/Managlitsa crossbreeds for $7.99 pound.
“It’s a tiny niche product. Out of eight million pigs in Austria, only 20,000 are Mangalitsas,” said Clampffer.
“It takes the right guy to appreciate it and eat it.”
Tracy SuttonZone Editor
BRANCHVILLE, N.J. — They aren’t the prettiest pigs you’ve ever seen. But they could be the tastiest you’ve ever eaten.
Mangalitsa pigs, are the curly-haired sideshow freaks to their conventional pig cousins. Dark, curly, and bristly-haired they look like a mad geneticist’s cross between sheep, Highland cattle, and a pig. Bred during the Austro-Hungarian Empire for their lard, Mangalitsas are not “the other white meat.” Their flesh is dark, marbled with fat, extremely tasty and more akin to eating a fine cut of beef than pork.
Not surprisingly, Mangalitsa is highly sought after by chefs. Until recently, it could only be found in Europe and through one farm in Washington state, but two years ago Mosefund Farm owned by G.C. Andersen in Sussex County, New Jersey began raising Mangalitsas.
That Mangalitsas are even available at all is something of a miracle.
More than a hundred years ago, it was the pork of choice among Hungarians, where it was used to make lard and sausages. But the breed began to die out after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I and Communism nearly decimated it all together when farms became collectives and farmers turned to conventional breeds that were leaner, faster growing and cheaper to raise.
But in the 1980s, Mangalitsas started to make a comeback in Europe. A recent New York Times article credited Peter Toth, a Hungarian animal geneticist for working toward saving the breed. He was quoted:
“When Communism collapsed, the state farms that served as the last gene banks also collapsed. It was a total anarchy in the country. When I started to save Mangalitsas, to search for them in 1991, I found only 198 purebred pigs in the country. Sometimes, I would rescue the pigs right from the slaughterhouse.”
Since then the population has revived to about 50,000.
Mosefund Farm is the only operation on the East Coast to raise Mangalitsas, with about 80 pigs at present. Clearly it is not a breed for the faint of heart. Mangalitsas require more of everything — time, feed, and space. It takes about a year on average to get a Mangalitsa to a butchering weight of 280-300 pounds. They cannot be slaughtered sooner, or the fat doesn’t marbleize. According to Mosefund Farm manager Brent Schicker, they require twice as much feed as conventional breeds and on pasture, “they are the most rootiest pigs ever.”
Pointing to a cordoned pasture, Schicker and Mosefund Farm chef Michael Clampffer showed off their grazing operation. “We thought each area would last the pigs a week (before turning to mud). It lasted about six hours,” said Schicker with some resignation.
Before taking on raising Mangalitsas, Clampffer spent two weeks in Vienna with the Austrian Mangalitsa Breeders Association and visited six farms. “Every farmer has his own little trick that affects the final product,” said Clampffer.
He said in Austria they don’t feed the pigs one day a week, so they will eat what they find.
The Mangalitsas at Mosefund pasture on clover and chicory. “Chicory is a natural de-wormer,” said Clampffer. But the pigs eat no greens before they’re slaughtered. They’re finished on a feed mix of nine parts barley to one part wheat. “Absolutely no corn or soy,” said Clampffer, as it makes the fat greasy. “Corn is a polyunsaturated fat and can make the fat go rancid.”
So far, raising Mangalitsas, what farm manager Schicker calls their “new burgeoning enterprise” has been a great success. “We’re sold out for July.” The farm uses Green Village Packing in Morristown, New Jersey to do their slaughtering and the pigs retail to restaurants for about $10 to $11 a pound, about $3 a pound more than what Berkshire pork, another coveted but more common heritage breed costs. Mosefund also raises Berkshire/Managlitsa crossbreeds for $7.99 pound.
“It’s a tiny niche product. Out of eight million pigs in Austria, only 20,000 are Mangalitsas,” said Clampffer.
“It takes the right guy to appreciate it and eat it.”
