Pork: Commodity, Duroc, Berkshire - Comparisons?

[jjdbike]

Hey folks,
Can folks who have used these please share comparisons between these?
Thanks in advance!
JD

[58limited]

I've cooked several Berkshire pork chops, one small Berkshire roast, and some slabs of Berkshire and Duroc ribs. I'll say that the difference is amazing. The meat is red, not as red as beef but not "the other white meat" the industry is touting. This is what our parents and grandparents ate before the large streamlined mass production pig farms came about.

If you want to try some for a decent price look for a butcher locally that carries heirloom pork or order from Wild Fork Foods, they carry Berkshire. I get most of mine from Wild Fork.

https://wildforkfoods.com/search?q=berkshire

[Troutman]

I agree wholeheartedly.You can keep your $0.99/# commodity pork. Also try Porter Road and Compart Duroc as sources.

[USMCCrashCrew89]

I buy Berkshire/Duroc cross from a local farmer. Like 58limited mentioned, it is red, which has led to some hesitation from visitors who are used to the pearl white commodity pork. The difference is in taste is insane though. We’ve ruined grocery store pork chops and bacon for ourselves, not to mention the other cuts.

[58limited]

Agreed, hard to eat commodity pork once you've tried heirloom.

Just checked Wild Fork's site. They now have avg. 3.4 lb pork belly halves. Previously all I saw were 1 - 1 1/2 lb pork belly sections. I've never had heirloom pork belly so I placed an order.

[Donw]

You need to try it yourself. However, prepare each cut so that the pork itself is the star and not the rubs and sauces often applied. The Berkshire and Duroc will shine compared to the Commodity.

[bbqLuv]

I am perfectly happy with store-bought pig parts, "The other white meat". But I have to admit free-range wild feral pigs are so much better. A Russian sow I harvested one year was fantastic. But had to leave Oregon for that one.

[bbqLuv]

If it was up to me, I would be there.

[texastweeter]

Oak Smoke i have a freezer full of em that have been hit by a .30-30, 7mm-08, or a 6mm.

[bbqLuv]

7MM-08, very good. 30-30 fast and fun, 6mm/243 for headshots.
I am a high shoulder shooter. Drop'em in their tracks.

[Draznnl]

I've never had anything but commodity pork which I find tasteless. It is a nice canvass to paint on with rubs and other seasonings.

[texastweeter]

Almost like a different meat. Not a big fan of duroc, but love Berkshire and red wattle. Just try is, but be forewarned, you won't want to go back. Only ever had Berkshire chops and or pork shoulder, and red wattle chops. Duroc, I have had chops and ribs.

[Mosca]

I’ve used Berkshire, Duroc, Kurobuta (Japanese Berkshire), and Cheshire. Of those, I liked them all, preferring Cheshire. And Kurobuta was tasty, but the ribs were really small. Cheshire pork can be pretty reasonably priced if you get it from https://www.cheshirepork.com . What I like about Cheshire? The ribs are HUGE.

Im going to call out two grocery store brands as great tasting and great value: Prairie Fresh and Hatfield. Hatfield is an east coast brand, a cross between Yorkshire and Duroc (I’ve read), and it is really good. The meat is a nice, bright pink, and very flavorful. Prairie Fresh is used in many competitions. It is Yorkshire, and likewise, nice and pink and really tasty. I recommend both.

[Jfrosty27]

We have Prairie Fresh in the grocery stores here. I’ll second Mosca that it is very good in my experience.

[Andrrr]

Which stores? Jfrosty27

[Potkettleblack]

I’ve cooked lots of commodity pork, and Berkshire, kurobuta, old spot, Tamworth, duroc, red wattle, several hybrid heirloom breeds, and a mangalitsa cross.

The Mangalitsa cross was maybe the best pork I’ve ever eaten domestically. It’s the wagyu of pork, for real, as it’s a fatty, shaggy pig. The meat is dark, like veal, not quite beef.

I think of myself as a bit of a connoisseur. Everything about commodity pork is designed for economy. Fast growing pigs, uniform size, lean loin, pale in color. Their lives are not pleasant. It can be hard to cook due to its leanness. It’s flavor is inoffensive. It’s fat is, comparatively speaking, flavorless. It’s fine. It’s a good platform for a wide variety of flavors.

now, I dunno if duroc or Berkshire/kurobuta is tastier. That’s gonna be a personal preference. What a heritage pig gives you is not so much on the breed (though Berkshire/kurobuta tend to have smaller, less meaty spare ribs), but you’re getting a pig that was raised with care. For slaughter, sure, but allowed to walk around the farm, forage for dropped fruits, or bugs, or whatever it can find. It’s fed with greater care and allowed the time to grow to maturity. That time and that care results in more flavor. It’s easier to cook. The loin isn’t as lean. The fat has greater flavor. It remains a versatile platform for flavors, but it has a flavor of its own, one that it decidedly, for lack of a better term, porky.

and, at the end of the day, I want my pork to be porky. The animals that I eat having a better life is a bonus. Preserving biodiversity is a plus. Supporting smaller hog farmers is a boon. But the meat has better flavor and can be more forgiving to cook.

im not saying I don’t buy commodity pork. I do. I work for the federal government, have student loans and a mortgage. But I try to eat better.

[DaveD]

"At the end of the day, I want my pork to be porky." Truer words were never spoken. I love the Berkshire, Duroc, and Kurobuta we've had, they've all been great.

[bbqLuv]

you know just had to google it.

"Mangalitsa meat is considered among the tastiest pork in the world. The meat of the Mangalitsa pig is reddish (unlike the "other white meat" that Americans are accustomed to), highly marbled with creamy white fat, and is high in omega-3 fatty acids and natural antioxidants. This is due to a natural diet that primarily consists of forage and barley."

[Potkettleblack]

bbqLuv My belief, if I can sum it to <500 characters, is that the feeding is the most important thing for animal flavor. The breed may matter, but the care and feeding is the most important. Please note, I'm a city kid, who has done no farming in my life. But my reading and my ADHD enhanced senses (smirk) tell me the breeds matter, but the lifestyle and the feeding matter most. And note: most heritage breed animals get better feeding and live better.

[jjdbike]

Great information here.
I love this site & appreciate you folks.
Thanks much!
JD

[rickgregory]

You all just forced me to buy some Iberico chops. MMMM....

[texastweeter]

Only ever had hamon Iberian, and it is devine!

[CandySueQ]

I've cooked lots of pork! There are differences in the commodity brands too. I'm very fond of Prairie Fresh and Allegiance (duroc) ribs. Best pork butts I've ever cooked were from Flora, MS at the Flora Butcher. Berkshire pigs, but finished off with special feed (I don't remember what). The fat was layered and had the same creamy feel of cold cream (the face stuff!). For BBQ comps, I generally use commodity. I think the heritage breeds are too different for the judges.