The porc negre: a victim of its own success in Mallorca

There was a time when the Mallorcan Porc Negre was on the verge of extinction.

Today, the opposite is true: demand for sobrasada and meat from this traditional breed is so high that some producers cannot keep up with all the orders.

It is a curious situation that shows how a local product can go from being forgotten… to facing the risk of dying of success.

The Mallorcan Porc Negre

The Mallorcan Porc Negre, the native pig of Mallorca, was formerly the only breed used to make sobrasada on the island. Later, pigs of other breeds were brought to the island, which were more productive in terms of weight and undoubtedly much more profitable. The native breed, the Porc Negre, saw its numbers steadily decline until it almost disappeared.

The revival of the Porc Negre

In the early 1980s, a slow recovery began thanks to farmers who appreciated the traditional ways of old Mallorca and a few entrepreneurs who knew how to promote the product effectively.

The Geographical Indication for Sobrassada de Mallorca was then established, which protects the Mallorcan Porc Negre breed. The strict regulations of the Regulatory Council control the quality of Sobrassada and ensure compliance with the requirements for its correct production, labelling and marketing.

Why is the Porc Negre special?

It is a native Mallorcan breed, reared exclusively in the open air on farms across the island. These are always farms duly authorised and monitored by the Regulatory Council.

Their diet is carefully managed, consisting of cereals, legumes, figs, carob and other agricultural produce.
This special care, combined with the breed’s own characteristics—slower growth and a more marbled fat—gives the meat a more intense and natural flavour. The end result is a higher-quality sobrasada that is far more delicious on the palate.

Limited production and sustainability

The case of the Mallorcan black pig demonstrates that traditional production operates at a different, more leisurely pace. It is not a large-scale industry involving hundreds of animals and plagued by overcrowding and waste management issues. Instead, it consists of small-scale farms typical of the Mallorcan countryside, representing a much more sustainable and environmentally friendly way of rearing animals.

Dying of success

The breed went from decline to revival, and from there to subsequent success. But the promotion of the Porc Negre has gone so far that the estimates made by the breeders of these native pigs have often fallen short.

The meat from the Porc Negre is no longer used solely to make high-quality sobrasada for local consumption, but is also exported to several European countries. Furthermore, certain restaurants feature it as a delicacy on their menus, and there are even entrepreneurs who have shipped fresh meat as far as Japan.

For these reasons, there have been many times when it has been very difficult to find genuine Mallorcan sobrasada made from the Porc Negre, and certain producers sometimes struggle to supply their long-standing customers.

Given all this, we can better understand the situation of the Porc Negre and the reason behind the title of this text, ‘dying of success’.

Final conclusion

The Mallorcan Porc Negre is much more than just an ingredient. It forms part of the island’s gastronomic history and a traditional way of understanding the countryside and food.

Tasting authentic Porc Negre sobrasada is also a way of supporting the survival of one of Mallorca’s most iconic breeds.

The Porc Negre is a very popular animal among the Mallorcan people and its meat is highly appreciated, as is the Sobrassada de Porc Negre. One of the reasons for this success is that it is very healthy. Know something about this excellence, visiting the post that follows in the link: Porc Negre and healthy diet

Porc Negre and healthy diet

Would you like to taste an authentic Sobrasada de Mallorca? Follow the link to reach our online shop:

Buy Sobrasada de porc negre