Cordero de Extremadura

Fresh lamb meat and carcase cuts produced in Extremadura, Spain, from animals of Merino lineage slaughtered at no more than 100 days of age. Male carcases must weigh less than 16 kg and female carcases less than 14 kg. The designation is registered as a PGI under file number PGI-ES-0725, with EU protection granted on 9 October 2008.

About this designation

Cordero de Extremadura is a PGI covering fresh meat and offal from lamb carcases and their cuts produced within the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. The designation was registered under file number PGI-ES-0725, with EU protection taking effect on 9 October 2008, and is identified in the eAmbrosia register under identifier EUGI00000013881. The control body is the Consejo Regulador de la Indicación Geográfica Protegida "Cordero de Extremadura". The specification defines the permitted progenitor breeds precisely. Dams must be Merino or Merino crossed with Merino Precoz, Merino Fleischschaf, or Ile de France, provided that at least half of each lamb's progenitors are Merinos. Sires must be pure-bred or simple hybrids of any strains of the Merino breed, including Merino, Merino Precoz, Merino Fleischschaf, Ile de France, and Berrichon du Cher. Lambs must remain with their dams and feed on maternal milk, with the option of supplementary starter feed from three weeks of age, until weaning between 40 and 50 days of age. After weaning, finishing takes place exclusively indoors using concentrates and cereal straw. The age at slaughter must never exceed 100 days. Male carcases must weigh less than 16 kg; female carcases less than 14 kg. Fat cover must fall between Slight (2) and Average (3), and conformation must be Class O (Fair) or above, both as defined under Regulation (EC) No 1249/2008. External fat must be white and firm; body cavity fat must be white and cover half, but never all, of each kidney.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PGI on 9 October 2008 under file number PGI-ES-0725 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013881).
• The age of lambs at slaughter must never exceed 100 days.
• Male carcases must weigh less than 16 kg; female carcases must weigh less than 14 kg.
• At least half of each lamb's progenitors must be Merinos; the specification permits no other dam lineage.

Tasting notes

Extremaduran lamb IGP from regional Merina-breed flocks. Lean pink meat, delicate sweet-grass flavor.

HoReCa use

The source document references traditional Extremaduran dishes in which lamb is the principal ingredient, including caldereta extremeña, cochifrito de borrego, carnero con orégano, chanfaina, and manos de cordero.

Packaging

• carcass-half-10-15kg
• primal-cuts-vacuum-various
• pierna-2-3kg
• paletilla-1-1.5kg
• costillas-rack-800g-1.2kg

Seasonality