Extremadura’s dehesa
LA DEHESA
Free-range Iberian pigs fed on acorns
What is La Dehesa?
Between 1 to 1.5 hectares of land are needed per pig to fatten them up before they are sacrificed.
Dehesa’s are hot during summer, mild over winter and enjoy average rainfall.
These conditions can be found in south-east Spain, i.e. in the south of the province of Badajoz and the north of the provinces of Seville and Huelva.
La Dehesa is used by the Iberian pigs during autumn, coinciding with the last stage of breeding and fattening and the ripening of the acorns from the holm oaks and cork trees. This period is known as MONTANERA.
This is when the pigs feed on acorns, rich in mono- and polyunsaturated fats and glucides, which give the meat its characteristic aromatic and organoleptic qualities and heart-health benefits.
Located in Extremadura
Located in Fuentes de León (south-east Badajoz), the county famous for having the highest density of holm oaks per hectare in Spain.
In addition to our abattoir and factory, we own several farmlands, enabling us to control 75% of our production. The remaining 25% comes from other dehesas in the area, where we have previously provided our Iberian pigs to achieve uniformity in all our products.
This stage of the cycle is completed thanks to the important fact that a company within our group, CARDENO, S.L., specialises in the primary sector, its main business activity being rearing and fattening Iberian Pigs on its own farmlands.
Free-range Iberian pigs
To ensure that we comply with exhaustive quality standards, at CARDENO S.A, we do not allow more than 1.25 pigs per hectare on our own and associated farms, thus ensuring that animals are of optimum quality.
Such vast spaces of land require physical effort from the pigs as they search for their food. This slows down their fattening process (so they do not exceed 180 kg) and ensures that the fat filters further through to the muscle, therefore producing more succulent, exceptionally tasting meat.