The Gochu Asturcelta. In 2002 a campain was started to protect an almost extinct Asturian breed of swine. Since then its numbers have risen gradually and thanks to a few passionate farmers and breeders, the Gochu Asturcelta is now a common sight throughout in the region of Asturias.
The beauty of this breed of swine is that it’s not suited to intensive methods of rearing and prefers to be free to roam and forage in Oak and Chestnut forests. This means that the meat it produces is always organic and free range and even though it has a much lower fat content then the more popular breeds of Gochu Asturcelta or Asturian Celtic Pig it is still full of flavour.
To find out more about this rare species of Gochu Asturcelta, we took our cameras along to the Gipsy Chef Cooking tour to meet none other than “Gipsy Chef” Pablo Albuerne who was hosting an event organised by Socio-ecologists, Gaia and Sofia. The event was held in the fabulous organic farm of Finca Amaido and it was a great opportunity for families to get some cooking tips from the Gipsy Chef and also witness the Gochu Asturcelta in its natural habitat.
The Gipsy Chef pulled all the stops on this leg of the tour and slow roasted a whole pig in traditional ground oven.
While we were waiting for the pig to roast we went for a walk with co-founder of Gaia y Sofia, Sebastian Burch who explained to us what makes the Gochu Asturcelta such a unique and excellent breed of pig.
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