Have you tried porcelet? If not, it’s high time. Porcelet – known as cochon de lait in France – is a type of suckling pig that is raised on milk. This highly regarded delicacy in Europe is hard to find in the United States. But there’s good news for the pork lover! Porcelet is exclusively available at D’Artagnan. Read on to learn more about this succulent pork and how you can enjoy it at home.
A Tradition Reinvented
In France, the milk-fed piglet is known as cochon de lait, and until our farming partners in Quebec began raising them, it was hard to find any milk-fed piglets in North America.
The piglets are raised on a proprietary milk formula, designed with animal nutrition scientists, that’s fortified with vitamins, minerals, and carefully balanced fat content – like a protein shake for a bodybuilder. The formula is delivered at body temperature, and the piglets maintain their natural nursing rhythm.
The entire program is designed to put fat on the piglets in all the right places. This diet allows them to thrive for long periods of time, growing larger than the average suckling pig, while maintaining tender texture. No antibiotics, hormones, or growth stimulants are ever used, and every care is taken to provide humane conditions for the pigs. The result is the most tender and delectable pork imaginable.
They call it porcelet (poor-seh-lay), which to us means “the best pork ever.” How do you cook this extraordinary pork? We have a few ideas …
Cooking with Porcelet
Professional chefs love our porcelet. Here’s a recent Instagram post from Chef Mike Reilly at The NoMad in NYC that shows how he’s cooking porcelet loin – so summery! – with peaches, peppers, and charred corn.
Small-Batch Porcelet Carnitas
We have several cuts of porcelet, including a manageable porcelet collar that weighs 1.25 – 1.5 pounds and is perfect for home cooks. Pork collar has long been considered a butcher’s secret. But that secret is getting out. It is even being called “the new pork belly” by food cognoscenti, but you may know it by its Italian moniker, “coppa.”
This easy recipe for porcelet collar makes next-level carnitas for two to four people. The incredibly tender pork is perfect for tacos, a grain bowl, or salad.
8-Hour Porcelet Shoulder with Crackling
Take it slow and easy with this 2-ingredient porcelet recipe. Oh, sorry. That’s 3 ingredients: porcelet shoulder, salt, and pepper. Since it comes with the rind on, you get the magic of pork cracklings on the entire surface when you finish the porcelet with a few minutes of broiling at the end. The hardest part is waiting 8 hours for the roast to come out of the oven.
Now available to the home cook, our website has 6 cuts of porcelet for the pork aficionado to choose from including the bone-in porcelet shoulder, bone-in porcelet loin, and rack of porcelet.
Shop dartagnan.com for porcelet and explore our recipes.
Since 1985, D’Artagnan has been at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement, producing superior tasting products by partnering with small ranches and farms. We are committed to free-range, natural production, sustainable and humane farming practices and no use of antibiotics or hormones. That’s why D’Artagnan products have been revered by America’s most renowned chefs for over 30 years. We offer the same high-quality products to home cooks at dartagnan.com, along with recipes and guides to help you live the tasty life.
Are you a business looking to serve or sell D’Artagnan? We invite both chefs and food retailers to reach out and become D’Artagnan customers.
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