The other, other white meat, Iberian Pork. Gourmet Pig Options?

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

https://www.insidehook.com/travel/ja...remadura-spain

With summer grilling/BBQ season coming, I was looking for something new. The above article was linked in the 'Real####" gamily of webpages.


I've seen some facebook ads for 'special' pork, and I assume it was related to this kind of Spanish pork that is from supposedly special pigs that eat acorns. Sounds like the cured meat is pretty special, but I started to wonder if there is 'better' pork out there in the US? At least two companies have brought in this breed and are doing higher end pork here in the US. Is pork just pork? Even my local butcher seems to pull out pork from vacuum sealed, plastic wrapped packaging that looks alot like Costco stuff.

Is there better pork out there? I did some local CO rancher grass fed/finished beef during COVID. It was OK, but my family like filet/tenderloin, which is almost too lean when all grass. The hamburger was awesome, but my family doesn't like the other steak cuts that much.

During COVID we went with more pork- due to cost and the new pellet smoker I got. I've just looked at a couple of sites that mention higher end pork, but at those prices, I'd rather just eat steak. I do like pork, and my daughter likes it more than red meat.

Is there a better pork that splits the difference in cost between Costco pork and steak? I figured that someone here would have the low down on it.

[eightmillimeter]

Heritage Berkshire pork is an English breed with a nice deep flavor and fat%, some places in the US raise and sell it along with Wagyu beef, Snake River Farms comes to mind. ItÂ’s good stuff and usually available.

[AKDoug]

https://www.insidehook.com/travel/ja...remadura-spain

With summer grilling/BBQ season coming, I was looking for something new. The above article was linked in the 'Real####" gamily of webpages.


I've seen some facebook ads for 'special' pork, and I assume it was related to this kind of Spanish pork that is from supposedly special pigs that eat acorns. Sounds like the cured meat is pretty special, but I started to wonder if there is 'better' pork out there in the US? At least two companies have brought in this breed and are doing higher end pork here in the US. Is pork just pork? Even my local butcher seems to pull out pork from vacuum sealed, plastic wrapped packaging that looks alot like Costco stuff.

Is there better pork out there? I did some local CO rancher grass fed/finished beef during COVID. It was OK, but my family like filet/tenderloin, which is almost too lean when all grass. The hamburger was awesome, but my family doesn't like the other steak cuts that much.

During COVID we went with more pork- due to cost and the new pellet smoker I got. I've just looked at a couple of sites that mention higher end pork, but at those prices, I'd rather just eat steak. I do like pork, and my daughter likes it more than red meat.

Is there a better pork that splits the difference in cost between Costco pork and steak? I figured that someone here would have the low down on it.

Back when Pork became the "other white meat" there was a push towards leaner-less fat pigs without as much marbling. This carries on to today with commodity hogs. The thing you need for good BBQ is good internal fat. There are high end BBQ guys that buy pigs from specific farmers that raise animals bred specifically for fattier meat. One popular breed is Berkshires. You can search around you locally and seek out custom heritage hogs, but they often reach the price of steak in the grocery store. I can actually get some fattier heritage hogs here in Alaska, even Berkshires, and they make WAY better pulled pork. I will say that the last pork shoulders(butts) I got from Costco were damn good.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

I have had good success with the pork shoulder at Costco, but I spend 10 minutes looking at each one, trying to parse out what marbling looks best. Then I cut out a lot of the most egregious fat.

I had one butcher tell me that pork shoulder has 'glands' in them that if not taken out will cause off flavors. I've had other butchers tell me that is BS?

On a side note, when I lived in STL they had 'pork steaks', but like toasted raviolis and Ted Drewes, you don't realize what you missing until you leave. Looking online, they are thinner cuts, that seem to be from the pork shoulder? Cooking those in anything but a smoker seems like a recipe for a real tough piece of meat, even if cooked 'slowly' over an open flame.

[ABNAK]

IMHO pork (or beef) needs good marbling. Too lean and it gets chewy; the fat contributes to the moist tenderness, especially with roasts.

[ABNAK]

I have had good success with the pork shoulder at Costco, but I spend 10 minutes looking at each one, trying to parse out what marbling looks best. Then I cut out a lot of the most egregious fat.

I had one butcher tell me that pork shoulder has 'glands' in them that if not taken out will cause off flavors. I've had other butchers tell me that is BS?

On a side note, when I lived in STL they had 'pork steaks', but like toasted raviolis and Ted Drewes, you don't realize what you missing until you leave. Looking online, they are thinner cuts, that seem to be from the pork shoulder? Cooking those in anything but a smoker seems like a recipe for a real tough piece of meat, even if cooked 'slowly' over an open flame.

Yes, I've seen different grocery stores label them differently but I do believe they are cut from the shoulder. Marinate it and grill it just right and it rivals a good beef steak for a helluva lot less in price.

[soulezoo]

My buddy raises Mangalitsa pigs for meat. Both swallow belly and red boar. Excellent meat. High in omega 3s.
Do some research, don't take my word for it.