A rare breed of pig has been luring St. Louis chefs to a slaughterhouse about an hour and a half west of the city.

Swiss Meat & Sausage Co. in Hermann processes Mangalitsa pigs, a lard-type breed native to Europe and first introduced to the United States in 2007. These stout hogs develop copious amounts of fat as well as meat that's red and earthy, almost unrecognizable compared to the lean, white cuts in most supermarket counters.

Pork fat is no enemy of today's chefs, and several here were more than eager to be among the first to try this small-production breed. Monarch's Joshua Galliano this summer led a group of about 10 chefs and restaurateurs (and a few reporters) to Hermann to observe the process at Swiss Meats, sample the Mangalitsa and meet Heath Putnam, the man who was the first to import the breed to the United States.

Now, various preparations of Mangalitsa pork are popping up on menus throughout St. Louis.

The Crossing serves a duo of Mangalitsa, which chef-owner Jim Fiala labels on the menu as "Wooly Pig," a nod to Putnam's Washington-based company. Salume Beddu makes Mangalitsa sausages. Galliano is frying chicken from Monarch's new Southern-inspired menu in Mangalitsa lard. And St. Louis' Underground Chef is cooking an all-Mangalitsa dinner on Aug. 14 (click here, use password "wooly pig").

Galliano and Sidney Street Café's Kevin Nashan returned to Swiss Meats this week for a hands-on tutorial in the unique butchering process that these pigs require. The chefs worked alongside professional butchers on Tuesday at the federally inspected site as well as Swiss' president, Mike Sloan.

"Mike was a great host, and we spent the morning butchering all aspects of the Mangalitsa," Nashan said.

Mangalitsa experts from Austria visited Swiss Meats this year to instruct its butchers how to break down the pigs into cuts that maximize their use. It's a type of butchery not often practiced in the United States.

"It's very different from what we usually see and do," Galliano said.

By learning about this heritage breed and putting it on their menus, St. Louis chefs are among a distinguished and growing list of restaurant pros who are helping make Mangalitsa as buzzworthy as Kobe beef or Berkshire pork.

"It is up to all of us to learn, and then to educate our staff and patrons," Nashan said.