Anyone familiar with Kurobuta, Mangalitsa or Red Wattle?

[Senator Pig]

I smoked my first Kurobuta shoulder a few weeks back and it changed my whole outlook on pork and smoking. The quality of this specific breed blew my mind, and though it wasn't easy buying a shoulder for $120, it was easily the best tasting pork I've ever eaten. Hands down. The juiciness and flavor was on a whole new level. I'm now hooked on these breeds and, after much research, will be picking up a Mangalitsa shoulder for nearly $200 this week from my butcher who managed to track one down for me. I know that is a ridiculous amount to pay, but after reading much about this breed and chefs who have won events like Cochon 555 with it, I figure it's one of those things I'll forever regret if I don't try it.

Has anyone else here experimented with smoking these unique breeds of pork? What are your opinions and takeaways? Any advice, suggestions or help would be massively appreciated.

[RonB]

Kurobuta pigs are actually Berkshire pigs that originated in England. Here's a little history from Heritage farms:

http://www.heritagepork.com/berkshire_history

[Yelnoc]

Checked the site- pricing reasonable but still a little more than twice from a local farm. Shipping very reasonable. Great info!

[gcdmd]

County youth livestock shows & auctions can be a source for good pork, at least in south Texas, where I live. It can be a bit expensive if the bidding gets competitive. However, bargains can be found. These pigs are hand raised by the kids, usually 4-H or FFA, and the money goes to the kids.

[Yelnoc]

Interesting - heard about Kurobuta for some time and saw some pricing in the SRF Christmas catalog. If price were no object I'd be all over it, but since I am almost always doing pork for larger groups (over cooking for my own use/supply) it's out of the question. Living in what must surely be the pork capital of the US, I can attest that pigs from local farmers produce noticeably better product across the board at or less than grocery store prices. Looking at the SRF prices and others I wonder that it must be expensive and difficult to start a herd if you will of either high end pork or beef....or as they always say, everyone would be doing it.

[Senator Pig]

Yes, I've read that the high cost of certain breeds of pork is due to the diet they're fed (hazelnuts/acorn, milk, etc) and also because they take longer to raise, 2-3 times longer than standard pork, which is a lot of time, effort, and much more feed. All of that is factored into the higher price, I've read.

And yes, if cooking for a large number of people it is way too cost prohibitive to try to use these breeds, but part of me wonders if competitive bbq folks are using these breeds to get a leg up against the competition? I've never participated in a bbq competition so I'm not sure if the meat is supplied to everyone, or if competitors bring their own meat. But it makes sense that if you are allowed to bring your own meat, you'd want to bring a cut from a pig that is going to stand out from the competition and get you noticed. Or for all I know, using these types of pork is frowned upon in competition?

My first kurobuta shoulder came from Snake River Farms and it was absolutely divine. Snake River doesn't offer Mangalitsa so I had to look elsewhere to find that (fortunately found a farm here in my home state).

I have some kurobuta ribs here that I'm going to smoke this week. They are much smaller than the cryovac ribs I get at cash & carry so I doubt they'll take long at all. The color is a nice dark red, almost like beef but with tons of marbling. Excited to see how they turn out.

[RonB]

Senator Pig - please keep us posted, and photos would be very nice.

[ribeyeguy]

I've had the Kurobuta baby back ribs from Snake River and yes, they're much smaller than you'd expect. I used the 3 2 1 method and cut the times by roughly 1/3. They were good but not worth the price in my opinion. If I were to compare them to my local butchers baby backs I'd say they were slightly better but not off the charts better.

A few years ago for Easter we also tried their Kurobuta mini karver ham. We were very impressed with that although it came in under their stated weight range of 2.5 to 3 pounds. I believe the one we received didn't even hit the 2 pound mark. The size was a disappointment but it was delicious nonetheless.

[EdF]

My former pig supplier had some kind of pig one year that was very long - lots of pork belly compared to usual. That thing was awesome. Unfortunately I don't remember the breed name.

[Steve R.]

Check with your state Pork Producers Association. They can be a great resource. KY's just happens to be in my hometown, 5 minutes from my house. They keep 30# cases of pork burgers on hand for $22, for example.

[Senator Pig]

So a quick update, I drove to the farm here in Oregon (the only farm in the state that raises pure Mangalitsa pigs) and bought the shoulder, approx $185 for 11 lbs. It looks stunning. Unlike the normal light pink color of raw pork from Cash & Carry, this stuff looks like beef.. deep dark maroon red and the marbling on the bottom/sides is unreal. I'll get some photos posted up soon.

But first, on normal shoulders I typically trim the fat cap down to about 1/4" thick, sometimes I remove it entirely because I'd rather have bark up top than fat. Shoulders have plenty of fat/collagen throughout and so I've never put much stock into the idea that the cap needs to remain (and it's not a joy to eat!).

The Mangalitsa shoulder has a fairly thick fat cap, about 1.5" over the entire top. I've read a ton about the uniqueness of Mangalitsa fat, creamy/velvety and nothing like store bought pork. It's almost completely unsaturated fat, so it's not nearly as bad for you as other types of pork fat. Is there anything I can do with this excess fat cap once I trim it off? I already purchased some Mangalitsa leaf lard so I'm good on that, but anything else? I've read in some places, they use a cheese shaver, shave thin slices of the Mangalitsa fat, top with finishing salt and eat it straight.

Anyway, sorry to geek out with this. I plan on cooking it this weekend and will document with plenty of photos (and probably a video to show slicing/pulling).

Also, received some Kurobuta spare ribs from snake river farms. Tiny racks, but should be full of flavor!

I'm about 1 year into my hobby of smoking meats and I'm having a blast. Really glad to have found this forum!

[Potkettleblack]

With the fat cap, you could consider making a lardo.

http://johndellavecchia.com/2013/03/25/lardo-cured-pork-fat/

[EdF]

I'd be thinking about sausage-making with that fat. Ah, pork - the other red meat!

[BBQbot]

Senator Pig You are eating good!
Few weeks back Snake River Farms had Kurobuta ribs on sale for $18/rack + free shipping, those were incredible! Stronger pork flavor with a hint of sweetness to the meat you don't get in commodity pork. Last year SRF had 50% their shoulders so picked up a Kurobuta pork shoulder, it was also amazing. Watch for SRF's sales, they usually change them every week or so.

Last summer a friend (he's a chef at a restaurant here) picked up some Mangalitsa for pulled pork, that was the best pulled pork I've ever had. This stuff was over double the price of the already expensive Kurobuta I bought, so I'm not getting this often, but it was an incredible meal.

[Senator Pig]

BBQbot: Yep, those are the ribs I got, $18 per rack (and they even threw in a free mini karver ham). Wish I'd picked up more than 6 racks as they were nearly half off, but maybe next time.

In the same package I also received a kurobuta pork shoulder (it's pretty massive!, bone-in) and 5 lbs of wagyu ground beef. Have you tried the SRF Wagyu brisket? Are they worth the extra cost? I see black grade and gold grade, but have read Angus briskets aren't too different from the Wagyu ones.

My first kurobuta shoulder was a boneless one from SRF, but quite smaller than what I received this time around (bone-in this time). The flavor was so incredible! Here are some pics of that first one:

[CandySueQ]

I've been cooking SRF briskets, black and gold for years now in competition. Brisket has become my favorite meat because of SRF! I don't think there's a huge difference between black and gold, but there is a huge difference between Angus and SRF Waygu.

[BBQbot]

Agree with CandySueQ - huge difference between SRF Black or Gold Wagyu and Angus, it's not even close. The big difference is the consistency. I've had very good Angus and prime, but with SRF Wagyu briskets, it's a great brisket everytime.

[CandySueQ]

I've tried Duroc shoulders and ribs from Compart. The pork is real different. Good, just different from commodity pork. Every time I've cooked it in a contest I've ended up turning in what was familiar (the commodity). Here lately for competition, I've been big on Smithfield extra tender. Yes, I know it's pumped, but that means I don't have to! I'm with BBQbot on the SRF Kurobuta hams, they are very tasty. I've also cooked their Berkshire ribs. Smithfield ET is the current "must have" pork for us competition folks it seems.

I went to BBQ class this past weekend and learned how KCcompetitionmeats.com trims pork. Not really -- that wasn't taught, but I'm a pretty keen observer. Here's my first effort. I'm going to trim another tonight and do a practice cook on the Yoder Pellet Cimarron this weekend (test out the new fans, should improve airflow).

[BBQbot]

The one thing I've noticed with Durocs and Kurobuta ribs is they're so dang small/thin. Have you not turned in because of the taste, or size? Have you gotten any Durocs that are a decent size? We've always turned in commodity mainly due to how thin these are.

[CandySueQ]

I've seen some pretty thick cut Duroc loin back ribs. Lots of Memphis cooks use them.

[Potkettleblack]

Kurobuta are Berkshire, basically. Smaller ribs, fantastically porky, wonderful fat, thick cap. Can have a bit of umami, mushroomy goodness. Have a set of pork chops in my freezer of them right now. Love em. Had a rack of spares, which were tasty, but poorly cut... shiners left and right. Not sure if that was the butcher or the breed. But the chops are fantastic.

Red Wattle tender meat, juicy, marbled, lean cap, pork forward flavor. I have some of those in my freezer from my last shipment. One remaining sous vide chop in my fridge, probably dinner tonight. Love em. I have a shoulder in my freezer that might be RW or might be Berk. Or it might be tamworth, I forget.

Mangalitsa are hairy pigs. They grow fast and take minimal care, so very popular in Hungary where they originated. High lard production... if you're looking for a well marbled pig, you gotta get young mangalitsa, 12 months. Older and they get over fatty, apparently. Have been described as the Kobe of Pork, though I think that's more the unavailable in the US Tokyo-X pork, though I can see why. I haven't had these. In Hungary, mostly used for sausage making. In spain, prized for air curing, as they can cure loooooong. what meat there in on the pig (carcasses apparently run 65+% fat), is apparently quite flavorful.

[EdF]

Back in the aughts, we used to get a pig every year from a woman up in Maine. Her SO owns a BBQ joint in Salt Lake City and likes to be adventurous, so they usually did heritage breeds. One of our favorites was the Tamworth, which was bred to be the optimal bacon pig. Very long. It was awesome! http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/s...rth/index.html

Yay for Red Wattle too!

[EdF]

I love trying different breeds, and pigs seem to present a lot of variety. Make sure you find some jowls and make guanciale for the real carbonara! And other stuff! The texture of the fat is just so different from other parts of the pig.

[Potkettleblack]

Every great now and again, the Heritage Foods folks come into some Tamworth. The bellys they sell to professional bacon curers. Will try to get in on the next sale of them.

[EdF]

I'll just say, the results were awesome, and I hope you get some!