I get emails advertising "Prarie Fresh, Hatfield, Huntspoint Heritage, Berkshire, and Compart Duroc" St Louis style and baby back style ribs. Now, I do know the difference between St Louis and baby backs. But what about the different brands? Can someone help me by explaining the different characteristics? Are they worth the difference, considering they are going to arrive frozen and then remain so, getting used over a period of 6 months to a year?
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I have not heard of the other heritage hogs, but Berkshire is pretty good and commonly thought to be the best pork you can buy. -
There are many "Heritage" farms springing up all over the place. Whether its pork, produce, etc.,in most cases the products seem better. The hogs that are raised locally have a bit stronger pork flavor as they are a bit leaner than the factory raised stuff. The limited amount of this pork I have tried(ribs, belly, shoulder) has been very good to excellent. It is more expensive because it takes more time and feed per pound of meat to raise these hogs. I do a bit of charcuterie from time to time, and for charcuterie, these heritage hogs are fantastic. I think they are well worth the extra cash, but I tend to use this type of stuff for special occasions. As far as shelf life when frozen is concerned, a quick rule of thumb in the restaurant is about 6 months till you need to use it. Having said that, I found some very well packaged veal in the restaurant freezer that was 3 years old and cooked up beautifully with zero issues. I hope this helps.Comment
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