Ibérico Pluma
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The pluma is a small, flat, triangular muscle cut from the end of the loin, where it tapers towards the shoulder — sometimes called the feather cut for its shape. It is one of the most prized cuts on the Ibérico pig, despite being relatively unknown outside of Spain until recently. Each animal yields only two, weighing roughly 150–250g each, which is part of the reason it was historically underused in commercial butchery and kept for the butcher's own table.
What makes the pluma exceptional is the density of intramuscular marbling relative to its size. The fat is distributed in fine, even streaks through the deep red meat, and because these are acorn-fed (bellota) Ibérico pigs, that fat is unusually high in oleic acid — the same monounsaturated fatty acid found in olive oil. The oleic acid content changes the melting point and texture of the fat: it renders at a lower temperature than conventional pork fat, which means the marbling bastes the meat internally during cooking and gives the finished cut a richness and succulence that is closer to wagyu beef than to any other pork.
The Ibérico breed is raised free-range on the dehesa — the open oak woodland pastures of southwestern Spain — and finished during the montanera season on a diet of acorns. This is not a marketing detail; the acorn diet is what drives the fat composition and, by extension, the flavour. The meat is darker and more intensely flavoured than conventional pork, with a nuttiness and depth that reflects both the breed and the diet.
Sold IQF (individually quick frozen) to lock in quality at the point of butchery.
Origin: Spain, acorn-fed 100% Ibérico.
Ingredients: Ibérico pluma pork.