Chef Isabel
Acedías Fritas de Cádiz
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Lomo Embuchado Castellano
Created by
Castilla's leanest embutido is whole pork loin in pimentón, garlic, and salt, cased and cured slowly until it slices thin, firm, and ruby-edged for a board that needs no fuss.
Appetizers & Snacks
Spanish
Dinner Party
Make Ahead
Picnic
40 min
Active Time
0 min cook•1344 hr 40 min total
Yield1 cured loin, about 18 to 24 thin-sliced servings
Lomo embuchado castellano is Castilla's leanest embutido: a whole pork loin, not minced meat, rubbed with pimentón, garlic, salt, and a little oregano, then tucked into casing and left to cure until it firms. This is not chorizo without fat. The loin stays whole, so every slice shows a clean rose center and a red pimentón edge.
The method that decides it is the drying, not the rubbing. Pésalo, no lo adivines: weigh it, don't guess. Salt and curing salt must be exact, and after casing the loin hangs cold, humid, and moving just enough: 10 to 13°C, 70 to 80 percent humidity, until it loses 35 to 40 percent of its weight. Too warm and you're gambling. Too dry outside and the center stays soft.
Far from Castilla, use good fresh pork loin that has not been injected with brine. Ibérico is beautiful, but not required. Pimentón de la Vera gives the right smoke and deep red; if you can't find it, use the best sweet smoked paprika you can buy and know the flavor will be a little flatter. A collagen sheet can stand in for natural casing. It looks tidier, less rustic, but it cures.
Siempre sale, si lo sigues, but with cured meat, follow it means the scale, the thermometer, the hygrometer, and the target weight. In the Margin beside cured meats I write only this: don't argue with the room. The room wins every time.
Lomo embuchado belongs to the inland Castilian cured larder, especially Castilla y León, where the household matanza, the winter pig slaughter, turned one animal into food for the year. Unlike chorizo or salchichón, it keeps the loin whole, adobado with pimentón, garlic, and herbs before being embuchado, stuffed into casing, and hung in cold dry air. The lean loin was one of the prized cuts, saved for slicing thin at a table rather than stretching through a stew.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
fresh boneless pork loin
Quantity
1kg
center-cut, trimmed of silver skin
fine sea salt
Quantity
27g
curing salt no. 2
Quantity
2.5g
standard Cure #2, measured accurately
sweet smoked pimentón de la Vera
Quantity
15g
hot pimentón de la Vera (optional)
Quantity
2g
fresh garlic
Quantity
8g
grated to a paste
dried oregano
Quantity
2g
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1g
dry white wine
Quantity
20ml
large natural beef casing or collagen sheet
Quantity
1
soaked and rinsed as needed
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fresh boneless pork loincenter-cut, trimmed of silver skin | 1kg |
| fine sea salt | 27g |
| curing salt no. 2standard Cure #2, measured accurately | 2.5g |
| sweet smoked pimentón de la Vera | 15g |
| hot pimentón de la Vera (optional) | 2g |
| fresh garlicgrated to a paste | 8g |
| dried oregano | 2g |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1g |
| dry white wine | 20ml |
| large natural beef casing or collagen sheetsoaked and rinsed as needed | 1 |
Equipment Needed
- •Digital scale accurate to 0.1g
- •Vacuum sealer or heavy zip bag
- •Curing chamber or controlled wine fridge
- •Thermometer and hygrometer
- •Butcher's twine
- •Sterilized needle
- •Sharp slicing knife
Instructions
- 1
Trim and weigh
Work clean and cold. Trim the pork loin of loose fat and silver skin, then weigh it after trimming. The amounts here are for exactly 1kg meat. If your loin is a different weight, scale the salt to 27g per kilo, Cure #2 to 2.5g per kilo, and pimentón to 15g per kilo. Write down the weight; cured meat starts with a pencil, not a guess.
Buy plain fresh pork loin, not meat labeled enhanced, injected, or brined. Added water throws off the cure and gives you a softer, less reliable lomo. - 2
Rub the adobo
Mix the sea salt, Cure #2, sweet pimentón, hot pimentón if using, garlic, oregano, pepper, and white wine into a red paste. Rub it over every surface of the loin. Seal the loin in a vacuum bag or a tight zip bag and refrigerate at 2 to 4°C for 7 to 10 days, turning it every day so the cure moves evenly through the meat. Do not substitute Cure #1; this is a long cure, and it asks for Cure #2.
- 3
Dry the surface
Take the loin from the bag and scrape away any loose garlic clumps, leaving the red pimentón coating. Pat it very dry. Set it on a rack in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 12 to 24 hours, until the surface feels tacky rather than wet. That tacky skin helps the casing hold close and keeps the outside from turning slimy.
- 4
Case and tie
Wrap the loin tightly in the soaked natural casing or collagen sheet, smoothing out folds as you go. Tie it firmly with butcher's twine every 4 to 5cm, then prick any trapped air pockets with a sterilized needle. Weigh the cased loin and write that number down. Your finished target is 60 to 65 percent of this cased weight, which means 35 to 40 percent weight loss.
- 5
Hang to cure
Hang the lomo in a curing chamber at 10 to 13°C with 75 to 80 percent humidity for the first week, then 70 to 75 percent humidity after that, with gentle airflow and no direct light. Cure for about 35 to 45 days, but finish by weight, not by the calendar. White powdery mold is harmless and can be wiped with a little vinegar if you don't want it. Green, black, fuzzy, slimy, or foul-smelling mold means the meat is not for eating.
Do not hang this in a warm cupboard. If you cannot hold the temperature and humidity, buy good lomo for the board and wait until you have the right setup. That is not fussiness; that is the recipe. - 6
Rest and slice
When the lomo has lost 35 to 40 percent of its cased weight and feels firm through the center, take it down. Wrap it in parchment or vacuum-seal it and refrigerate for 5 to 7 days so the moisture evens out from edge to center. Peel away the casing if you like, then slice paper-thin across the grain. Let the slices sit 10 minutes before serving; the pimentón opens and the lean pork softens just enough.
Chef Tips
- •A curing chamber is not decoration here. You need steady cold, steady humidity, and a hygrometer you trust. A wine fridge with a controller and humidity tray can work; a kitchen pantry cannot.
- •Use pimentón de la Vera if you can. It gives lomo embuchado its smoky red edge. If you must substitute, use sweet smoked paprika, not chili powder, and expect a cleaner, less rounded flavor.
- •Ibérico pork gives a silkier slice because its fat is different, but a good white pork loin cures well. Choose a thick, even center-cut piece so it dries at the same pace from end to end.
- •Slice thinner than you think. Lomo embuchado is lean, so thick slices chew hard. Paper-thin slices bend, warm quickly on the plate, and taste fuller.
- •Keep finished homemade lomo refrigerated, wrapped, for up to 3 weeks, or vacuum-seal and freeze it in small pieces. Once sliced, eat it within 3 days.
Advance Preparation
- •Plan 7 to 10 days for the refrigerated cure before the loin ever hangs.
- •Allow 35 to 45 days for hanging, depending on thickness and the chamber; the target weight decides, not the date.
- •Rest the finished lomo 5 to 7 days in the refrigerator before slicing so the center and edge settle into the same texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 35g)
Calories
90 calories
Total Fat
4 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
31 mg
Sodium
650 mg
Total Carbohydrates
1 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
0 g
Protein
11 g
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