I saw "Alpschwein" for sale in the butcher today.....anybody know what it is?

It looked more like beef than pork, much darker red than usual....and as its almost time for "Wild", I wondered if it was wild boar, but as something of a fan of this type I cooking, I know that on menus this is usually Wildschwein.

Any insights anybody? And if it is just boringly "Pigs that live in the mountains", do you know if it is good to eat?

They are just normal pigs that spent their summer living on an alp. They claim that they are better but I have never done a taste test.

The pigs claim they are better??? Man alive.....I wish I'd got there before the butcher

My local Aldi are selling wild boar schnitzel, 2 x 100g for Chf 5.99 the meat looks like horse and is dark reddish brown. I am eating this tonight with Spätzle, chestnuts, and red cabbage: yummy!

Alpschwein is not the same as boar (Wildschwein / Sanglier) http://www.wildschwein-sanglier.ch/ there are too many in Switzerland, and it's now open season

Alpschwein seems to be pigs reared on the mountains in Austria,

http://www.laendle.at/produkte/fleis...lpschwein.html

..... so your butcher has probably bought some very cheaply, 5 Kg for €47,-- and is kindly selling this to you at more than €9 per kilo.

Said they were local from the Oberland.....

Enjoy the Wild tonight...can't wait to have my first time this year, but at 25C, seems too early for me!

I saw some Vension in Coop today.. looks really good.. will try to get some for this weekend!

Free range pigs which are taken up the Alps during summer to graze - like cows! This is done in Austria as well as Switzerland...sometimes they are even dressed up like cows to come marching down the Alps (another only in Switzerland item)...

Well, that is interesting! I like that. Free-range pigs who get to live a while up in the fresh Alpine air!

How do they get dressed up like cows..? You mean they have cow-bells round their necks? .... or ..... nah ... cows don`t wear anything else .... except their skins.... or do they wear something else also...?

Anybody eat them though??

No bells, but sometimes they get draped in flowers... BTW, the season is very short to get hold of Alpschwein...usually about 3-4 weeks beginning in late August and going to about the 20th of September. The pigs usually live in the same area as the cows, wondering around their own pasture in the Alps from about May. They feed on the natural grass and a healthy dose of whey left over from making cheese... Definitely worth a try for the meat/pork eaters out there...

Any recommendations about cooking? Is it tough meat for slow cooking?

If anyone cares......I bought some and it was properly good, very low in edge fat but still moist and tasty when cooked.

And a real bargain too

I don't know, Alpschwein sounds so much like a swear word to me. Du Alpesau du ... !!!

Anyway, I haven't seen any of that meat around here yet.
Was this something local, like from a local butcher or something, a local speciality?

I'd not seen it before, but it was very heavily promoted in the shop....like "Mountain Pig Season" banners!