Secreto Ibérico (which translates as Iberian Secret) is a cut of meat, which comes from between the shoulder blade and the loin of the prized Iberian pigs. Even if you can only find it from regular pigs, I recommend you give this cut of meat a go for the amazing flavour you get from it.
So, this is not a recipe, more a “letting you in on a little secret”. The reason this meat tastes so good is that the surface is marbled with fat. It is typically cooked over a high flame or hot griddle so the outside fat melts and gives you a fantastically crispy crust, while the meat inside stays juicy and tender.
Simply sprinkle some coarse (kosher) salt on both sides, pepper too if you like, and put it onto a very hot grill pan or barbecue.
Cook until it is golden and crispy and then leave to rest for 2 or 3 minutes. Round where we live it is traditionally cut into little strips after cooking and served with fresh lemon to squeeze over.
If you ever do come across this beautiful cut of meat….”shhhh, don´t tell anyone – it´s a secret”!
Chica Andaluza 
Thanks for this delicious secret! The cut looks like what’s called carbonnade here, and it is very tasty, although maybe yours has more fat on it.
I think you´re right now that you mention it. Some slices have more fat, some less but it does melt away and then you drain it off. Am off noew to research carbonnade recipes!
I think your search may be confused by the fact that carbonnade is actually a word for a kind of stew, often made with beef. I’m not sure why this cut of pork is called carbonnade here, because it’s too tender to need stewing! A friend recommended to me that I braise it for just 30 minutes on a bed of cooked onions and covered with white wine – I added some olives too, and it worked well.
Yes, that´s why it rang bells. I think if I trimmed the pork of any excess fat and did it the way you suggest it would be wonderful!
Loving this secret Tanya.
🙂 Mandy
Don´t tell everyone!
Thank you Chica for the delicious suggestion! And thank you chaise for telling me what to ask for 🙂
It´s great to learn new things, I had heard of carbonnade but didn´t realise it was the same!
I can smell it, I can taste it and I want to go to Spain right now, 🙂
I´m sure it won´t be long until you´re back!
Actually, I’m waiting for confirmation on a job, :).
Keeping everything crossed for you!
Mucho gracias! 🙂
I love useful little secrets like this! Is it “lomo”? I vaguely remember my suegra telling me that the juiciest part of the pig was the something-something while patting my shoulders and back to demonstrate.
A fun fact I learned while translating the meat section of a menu once, was that cuts of meat don’t always translate directly as different countries will butcher their carne differently. Must make it fun for international chefs! 🙂
You´re right – translations can often be misleading. I think your suegra was telling you about Secreto Iberico. It´s between the lomo and the paleta…take a look at this http://www.elcerdoiberico.es/?p=160 Suegras always know best!
Sigh….a cut of pork totally unknown in the US…
I’ll just have to come visit to get a taste! 😉
It´s funny isn´t it – it even varies from the UK to France/Spain/Italy. I always chuckle when I read about pork butt..but then I´m english and I have that sort of sense of humour 😉
Every butcher I ever worked for had to make rude jokes about pork butt…and none of them were English! It’s universal…
Cuts vary regionally here. We used to get Navy guys (there’s a base in Newport) from California looking for familar roasts that no New England butcher ever heard of…
Lavatory humour – the same the world over!
I’m going to the Bouqueria in a minute to look at the price of pork bellies and now… 😉
Hope it´s all going well for you guys!
What a sizzling post! 🙂 I wonder is this ‘secret’ cut available in Ireland?
I´ve never seen it in the UK, but if you have a good butcher I´ll let you tell him my secret and ask him if he could preapre it for you! Incidentally, it´s not a very expensive cut of meat (unless it´s from a Pata Negra pig).
Here in Andalucia, secreto Iberico runs 15.90 a kilo.. and it’s so delcious
My favourite cut of pork!
This has also been my “secret” for my guests in Spain! I adore secreto iberico when cooked the right way. It is fatty like a great quality bacon and meaty at the same time. Yet if not cooked correctly it can turn chewy which has turned a couple of my friends off. I’ve convinced most to give it a second chance and they love it!
Another one in on the secret – it is good isn´t it?! I think the trick (A bit like roasting meat) is to get the griddle up really hot to start with to seal the outside then reduce it towards the end so that the middle cooks through and stays moist.
This sounds delicious, Tanya, especially the crispy crust left when the fat renders. Yum! I’ve never heard of this cut, though, but will ask my butcher about it when I see him next. And don’t worry. Your secret is save with me. 😉
I had never heard of it outside of Spain but if you can get your butcher to prepare you a piece I am sure you will enjoy it!
Manjar entre manjares… me encanta el secreto y qué bien has explicado como hacerlo en su punto 🙂
¡Muchisimas gracias!
I’d never heard of this cut of meat before, but it sounds absolutely delicious. Fat tends to make everything taste better, huh? Love the crispy skin and tender interior…yum!
Yes, the fat really adds flavour!
I’ve never seen this cut here, but also hadn’t heard of it so may need to ask. But I sure do hope I come across it, and if I do, I won’t tell anyone! 😉
Maybe we can start an Iberian Secret revolution outside of Spain with everyone asking for this cut!
You’ve definitely told me a secret today. I’ve never heard of this cut of meat.. but you’ve definitely got me interested 🙂
I am so glad that it´s sparked interest, it really is such a great tasting cut of meat, but sadly I´ve never seen it outside of Spain.
I love the lemon juice secret!
We often have pork or chicken with lemon juice here (especially if it´s plain grilled) and it really does lift the flavour!
I LOVE THE FAT!!! sshh.. not sharing.. c
Me too…I am the original Jack Sprat´s wife (except that Big Man is not a Jack Sprat!).
Well Tanya, I haven’t had pork in (ahem) many years, but my mum tells me that my favorite food as a kid was the fat removed from everyone else’s chops! once those tastes and smells have entered into our consciousness it’s hard to think on them without a real sense of nostalgia. The only meat I will EVER miss. I’ll go on enjoying vicariously – so thank you for making it so enjoyable!
Hi Spree. Funnily enough I never used to eat pork until I came to Spain – I couldn´t bear the taste but here it´s proper pork! Of course, I understand that many people don´t eat it for health/religious reasons but for anyone who does this is a very special cut of meat.
I’ve heard the songs of Spain’s pork! Is it the breed, the good food they eat, or how it’s cured? Maybe all three? I believe you completely Tanya! I have no doubt that it’s an exquisite cut of meat from an already tasty source! Proper Pork, suiting an Englishwoman! 🙂 xo
Nothing beats grilling meat and I’ve heard nothing beats Iberian pigs. 🙂
Yes, the really Pata Negra pigs are the most expensive but the most delicious!
Oh for scratch and sniff… I could lick the screen! Mmmm… Dunno if I can find it here, but I’ll let you know if I get lucky!
I am curious now to know if any butcher outside of Spain would prepare this cut of meat…keep me posted!
I’m glad I dropped by, as I’ve learned something new about this cut of meat. Your secret is safe with me!
Love your blog name – will be over soon to check it out! Thanks for popping in and commenting 🙂
How wonderful. One of my favorite parts of The Silver Spoon shows the cuts of meat for cows and pigs in Italy and in America. There are so many more cuts in Europe.
It´s so strange isn´t it – you´d think butchering an animal would be pretty standard but it´s not. In France they have some amazing cuts which we don´t have here or in the UK!
Jaja, muy bueno tu post Tanya.
A nosotros en casa nos encanta esta carne, sobretodo a mi porque no tengo que pensar en cómo prepararla, como dices tu, una sartén caliente, sal, pimienta y listo!
Saludos 🙂
Gracias – y a mi tambien por las mismas razones….y el sabor, por supuesto!
Sounds perfect with a squeeze of lemon
It adds a little something special!
That looks delicious. I love ‘rustic’ food rather than daintly piled towers of stuff.
Rustic is most definitely what you get Up the Mountain!
Sounds perfect. Good food, good company, a perfect situation. No fiddly piles of food!
Count me in on th emeat, the fat and the squueze of lemon 🙂 I LOVe secrets 🙂
You have been counted!
Thanks for the secret cut of meat… now I just need to find some!
It´s tricky to find outside of Spain..let me know if you manage it!
I’ve never heard of this, thanks so much for letting me in on your little secret.. but, I’m so sorry.. it seems all these other people above me here have been listening in.. I promise, it wasn’t me that told;)
Luckily I think we´re all a trustworthy and select group of bloggers!
http://photographyofnia.com/2012/04/20/tagged/
You got tagged, with my love, nia
Did someone say crispy pork fat? 😀
I can’t even begin to imagine how awesome this must taste. I’ll have to see if I can find that cut of meat here. I didn’t see anything like it before I don’t think… maybe I just didn’t look hard enough.
I´ll save you some 😉 French butchers are pretty amazing with the cuts they produce. Someone else in France said the cut is carbonnade of pork (not the braised dish of carbonnade).
That fat looks like it would make the meat so flavorful and tender!
Oh it most certainly does!
Wow no way I could find such a gorgeous piece of meat over here. Luckily I just ate cause else I’d eat my iPhone Now
It seems to be typical only to Spain 😦 Glad you didn´t eat your phone though!
Haha another reason to visit Spain again! My problem is I’ve got friends from/in Tarifa to A Coruna & in between; I’ll need at least a month to drive around & eat!
It´s a big country and there is so much to see…you´ll have to do an extended tour!
This looks delicious……just perfect for BBQ !
It works so well on a barbeque – all those lovely smokey flavours!
Hi there – came across your blog while looking for a way to translate this cut for a menu I’m translating for a local Andalucían restaurant – I think I’ve now concluded that there ISN’T a direct translation as this cut simply doesn’t exist outside Spain!
Incidentally, although I’ve seen this cut in the shops I’ve never known how to cook it but now, thanks to your blog, I’ll give it a try 🙂
I love this cut of meat but you´re right…as it doesn´t seem to exist quite like this outside of Spain, there is no direct translation! Maybe do what everyone does and call it Iberian Secret but then add a few words of explanation? Now I fancy it and am in the UK so will have to wait until I´m home again to eat it….
A local meat market in coastal Maine offered the secreto cut, pork from a local farm, the only time I’ve ever found it in the US. We sauteed it on a very hot iron sarten for about 2 minutes on a side, having rubbed the meat with smoky pimenton, salt, pepper, garlic, a dash of red wine vinegar (effect similar to your lemon squeeze) and tucked some bay leaves alongside while it was marinading. It was excellent. Thanks for your discussion.
Oh it’s good to hear of someone else who knows this cut of meat – hope you enjoyed it!
Thanks for visiting me…now I am following you…
You are most welcome!
I wonder what this cut is called here? It looks great! Mmmmm… Hungry now!!
I think it’s sometimes called Skirt here, maybe the same for you?
I ‘m so happy I found your blog! I gotta say you had my Spaniard’s mouth watering at your recipes and food photos. He is from Barcelona, I am a native Californian, and we live in the Napa Valley. When I saw this post, I asked him, “What is this meat, and why did I never have it all the times we were in Spain? How come you never shared the secret darling?” Well, the hunt ensued at all the butcher shops and gourmet meat places for a place that breaks down their own pigs. Here in the States they are pre-butchered and delivered to shops in pieces. We took diagrams, went to Asian, Mexican and fancy gourmet chi-chi meat markets and not ONE butcher could get it for us. Apparently it is commonly ground up into sausage here. We did find a boneless sparerib meat that is for BBQ that my Spaniard says is basically the same flap of meat. (he has a veterinary degree and understands pig anatomy to accurately describe the cut to butchers) so we tried it… It was AMAZING! I love ribs, but I hate the bones. This is the best of both worlds. Tender, juicy, grilled on the BBQ with salt and pepper and a little lemon. He says its not the same taste here because of the grain fed swine vs acorn fed Iberian pigs… but I am not complaining… I am enjoying your blog! We have a lot in common, I also upcycle fashions, and enjoy blogging about cooking travel and lifestyle… So nice to “meet” you!
How lovely to “meet” you too and I’m so glad you managed eventually to track down some “secreto”. It’s such an amazing tasting cut of meat but I too can’t get hold of it outside of Spain. Glad you’ve enjoyed the blog. I’m an avid sewer, upcyler, cook and general “try it for myself” kind of person so I hope you’ll be inspired by what inspires me. Thank you for your lovely comment and Bienvendo a mi blog 🙂
unfortunately I was not allowed to eat pork.
i not allowed to eat pork
My wife and I took a road trip in Spain back in 2015. We took a lunch break at a small restaurant tucked in the narrow hilltop streets of Toledo. Not speaking the language and understanding the menu, we asked local folks what they were eating, and they said Secreto. We ordered it and we still talk about how good it was. Appreciate this blog and other webs that explain what Secreto Iberico is. Hope we can find the cut in the east coast US.
Thank you for your comment. Fingers crossed you find the cut of meat…no luck so far in England!