Ibaïama Pork Belly

Name: Ibaïama Pork Belly | Basque Country Pork | FINE & WILD
Brand: LE MARCHE DE CHEFS
SKU: IBIAPB1500
Price: 38.4 GBP
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.86 (7 reviews)

£38.40

1.5kg 1.7kg 1.9kg

Variant

Basque Country (France/Spain border) Free Range Cereal-fed, GMO-free, antibiotic-free

Skin-on pork belly from Ibaïama — free-range Basque pork from just three farms in the Pyrenees. Cereal-fed, GMO-free, antibiotic-free. Darker meat, fuller flavour, and a melting quality to the fat that standard pork cannot match. Governed by an independent label with strict husbandry requirements.

Ibaïama Pork Belly

£38.40

A whole pork belly from Ibaïama — a label-controlled Basque pork produced by just three farms in the Pyrenees, on the border of Spain and France. Ibaïama pigs are 100% born and bred in the Basque Country, raised free-range on mountainsides just a short distance from the Atlantic coast. The combination of mountain pasture, salt air, and a strictly controlled cereal-based diet produces pork with a character that is distinctly different from anything commercially reared: darker in colour, fuller in flavour, and with a melting, unctuous quality to the fat that makes it exceptional for slow-roasting.

The Ibaïama label is governed by an independent body that sets strict husbandry requirements — only farms that can meet them are permitted to use the name. The pigs are fed a cereal-based diet with no GMOs and no antibiotics, and are taken to a maturity weight of 180–220kg, at which point the meat is at its most succulent. The result is a pork belly with a thick, even layer of fat, well-developed meat with genuine depth of flavour, and skin that — when scored, salted, and roasted properly — produces crackling of a quality that is difficult to achieve with standard pork.

This belly arrives skin-on, ready to score and roast.

Producer: Ibaïama, Basque Country (France/Spain border)

Ingredients: Pork (belly, skin-on)

Storage: Store frozen. Defrost in the refrigerator for 24–36 hours before cooking. Once defrosted, use within 2 days

These timings are based on a 1.5kg piece. Adjust up or down for size.

Preheat a fan oven to 180°C. Remove the pork belly from its packaging and dry it thoroughly with kitchen paper. Score the skin at 1cm intervals diagonally and then crossways to create a diamond pattern — a sharp Stanley knife set to about 4mm depth works well. Cut through the skin and into the fat but not down into the meat.

Place the belly skin-side down on a bed of salt and leave it for one hour. This draws excess moisture out of the skin, which is essential for good crackling. After an hour, rinse the belly under cold water to remove the salt, then pat it completely dry again. Season with salt and place skin-side up in a high-sided roasting tray.

Roast at 180°C for one hour. After the first hour, begin basting the belly with the rendered fat at 20-minute intervals — this helps the skin crisp evenly and the meat turn golden. After a total of 2 hours of cooking, turn the temperature up to 220°C for the final 20 minutes. This high blast finishes the crackling.

Remove from the oven and rest for 10–15 minutes. To carve, place the belly skin-side down on a chopping board and cut into 1cm slices — you will need to apply more pressure to cut through the crackling.

Pork belly pairs naturally with sharp, acidic, or sweet accompaniments that cut through the richness of the fat: apple sauce, pickled red cabbage, a cider vinegar dressing, mustard, or a simple green salad with a sharp vinaigrette. It also works well with Basque-influenced flavours — piment d'Espelette, roasted peppers, or braised white beans.

Order Cut-Off Times & Delivery Date Selection

Orders placed before 2 PM (Monday to Friday) are dispatched the same day, unless you select a future delivery date at checkout.

Our Delivery Service

We use reliable third-party express courier services and high-quality insulated packaging. While our couriers are generally excellent, occasional delays can happen. We pack everything to stay fresh, even if transit takes a little longer.

Time-Sensitive & Event Orders

Can we guarantee delivery on a specific day? Unfortunately not - we rely on third-party couriers and can't control their schedules. All items leave us in perfect condition with good use-by dates, but final timing depends on the courier.

If your order is for a specific event, let us know in the notes section at checkout. We can often dispatch a day earlier to give you the best chance of timely arrival.

DELIVERY Changes After Dispatch

Once dispatched, your package is with the courier and we're unable to redirect it or change delivery details.

Saturday Delivery

Saturday delivery is available, though please note our couriers don't operate phone support at weekends and our office is closed. For event-critical orders, a weekday delivery gives us more flexibility to help if any issues arise.

Full delivery details and shipping rates: here

Description

A whole pork belly from Ibaïama — a label-controlled Basque pork produced by just three farms in the Pyrenees, on the border of Spain and France. Ibaïama pigs are 100% born and bred in the Basque Country, raised free-range on mountainsides just a short distance from the Atlantic coast. The combination of mountain pasture, salt air, and a strictly controlled cereal-based diet produces pork with a character that is distinctly different from anything commercially reared: darker in colour, fuller in flavour, and with a melting, unctuous quality to the fat that makes it exceptional for slow-roasting.

The Ibaïama label is governed by an independent body that sets strict husbandry requirements — only farms that can meet them are permitted to use the name. The pigs are fed a cereal-based diet with no GMOs and no antibiotics, and are taken to a maturity weight of 180–220kg, at which point the meat is at its most succulent. The result is a pork belly with a thick, even layer of fat, well-developed meat with genuine depth of flavour, and skin that — when scored, salted, and roasted properly — produces crackling of a quality that is difficult to achieve with standard pork.