Mangalitsa in Japan!

Mangalitsa tonkatsu (copied from Tomostyle blog).

A food blog has pictures and descriptions of Mangalitsa tonkatsu in Japan.

That's so cool!

When I learned that Iberico producers were exporting lots of frozen Iberico to Japan, and that the Western Hemisphere wasn't producing anything comparable, I resolved that I would import Mangalitsa stock and start producing Mangalitsa pork in the USA. The reasons:

• Mangalitsa pork generally tastes better than Iberico.

• Mangalitsa pigs fit the climate of our "pig belt" better than Iberico breeds.
  

• Japanese customers are quality sensitive. If frozen Iberico works for the fussiest Japanese, frozen Mangalitsa would work in America. Indeed, as of 2010, multiple Michelin-starred restaurants regularly buy Wooly Pigs brand Mangalitsa.
  

• The USA already exports a lot of pork to Japan; we've got better trade with them than the Spanish. In a decade or two, producers in the USA (perhaps Wooly Pigs, perhaps another company) will probably price the Spanish and Hungarians out of the market.
  

So I'm happy to see Mangalitsa pork gaining traction in Japan. It will be interesting to see if people prefer it to Iberico.

It would be so neat if Johnston County Hams or Knight Salumi winds up exporting products (made from our pork) to Japan.