Torrezno de Soria

Appearance & taste

Torrezno is a rectangular piece 25 to 55 cm long, 15 to 35 cm wide and up to 6 cm thick. Under the rind come three layers, fat, lean and fat again; a thin lean top layer may remain. According to the specification, this ratio of fat and lean parts makes it suitable for frying. It is not eaten raw, but only after heat treatment.

Torrezno contains 20 to 40 % moisture, 15 to 25 % protein and 35 to 60 % fat. It is sold whole, packed or unpacked, or in pieces or slices from 100 g, which are then always packed. Each piece and each pack bears a quality seal with the PGI logo and an identification number, which cannot be reused.

Production

The raw material is fresh belly from white pigs, from the rib and belly part between the front shoulder and the hind leg. It is at most 8 cm thick, well matured, free of bristles and defects such as bruises or blood spots; the rind is not removed.

The belly is salted, optionally washed and marinated, and then cured. Besides salt, sweet paprika, garlic, pepper, oregano, dextrose and nitrite, nitrate and ascorbates may be used. Torrezno is made, cut and packed only in inspected meat businesses in the province of Soria.

Origin & history

According to the specification, Torrezno owes its character to the traditional way of slaughtering in Soria. In almost the whole province, the pig is not opened with a single cut down the middle, but cut in curved lines from the breast to the inner thighs. This produces a spindle-shaped piece of streaky fat called “la íntima” (the innermost) or “alma” (the soul). From it were cut the “torreznos” that were eaten on the first day of the slaughter. A description of these slaughters in the 1950s dates from 1991.

The first written records linking Torrezno with Soria date from 1964: there it is named, together with a porridge of grass pea flour, as the daily fare of the people of Soria. Since 1975, days of slaughtering customs have been held in Burgo de Osma, with the “Torrezno del alma” on the menu. According to the specification, tourism has turned Torrezno de Soria from a local speciality into a product known abroad as well.