Berkshire Pigs

Well, nobody has answered, lemme bump this one a bit. I have not used it for competition BBQ, but, I have smoked ribs and shoulder from both Berkshire Black and Berkshire/Duroc crosses and you will not find a tastier pork meat. It does have more fat in some parts of the carcass, it was trimmed from the shoulders I bought. There did not seem to be additional fat apparent on the ribs other than at the chine(?) bone. The ribs do smoke up beautifully and both apple and pecan woods complemented the pork nicely.

In terms of timing, I found it cooked at about the same rate as commodity pork, resulted in the same basic texture once pulled. The ribs were similar in texture (I smoke with no foil). In general the shoulders rendered a lot of fat, so you will want a drip pan. There were some 'issues' between BIL and I, something about me 'cooking and running', i have no idea...

The flavor is what keeps me paying more for the pork than commodity pork, it has a more porky flavor and the fat is very flavorful. The texture is very similar to commodity pork, however, I find that Berkshire hog pork is a little more moist cooked to the same level of doneness. In an unfortunate blind taste test, I found that people (family) can tell the difference between the two types of pork once pulled.

I have also grilled the chops, tenderloins and sirloins and found them to be a little more fatty and marbled than commodity hogs, but not in a bad way. The pork bellies are incredible, again, not competition meat, but if you find some it is worth the bacon, if you will.

In my area it is hard to find Berkshire or Duroc boston butts big enough for me to consider using for a comp. (most are 4# around here)

If you can find a butcher shop that sells "Beeler" brand pork, they should be able to get you some Duroc pork that is, in my experience, as good as Berkshire. I was usually able to get 6 to 7 lb butts and the occasional larger one. I have had a great deal of difficulty finding Berkshire Pork shoulders in the Bay Area, so I go with Beeler's when I can.

I have made Berkshire Porchettas (they were quite tasty) but never used it for competition. I know of a few who have tried it for competition with no noticeable improvement in their scores.

I like big butts. You can't find that with Duroc or Berkshire. I get just as good flavor and moisture with the IBP pork butts.

I notice a big difference but the judges never did so I save them for my own use and guests ..

We use the Duroc butts, bellies, volcano shanks, loins and Berkshire bone in racks for catering. They work very well. the Duroc butts did well @ comp. I agree with them being small.

Vanderose Farms has Duroc Pork Butts that are on average 8-11 lbs, they do ship nationwide. We were sponsered by them for a while and the pork is without a doubt much tastier than commodity pork, we now use Hampshire breed pork which is also great.

There is a place near me where you can get 8-10# Berkshire butts. I can't get them to trim them out for what I need for competition, otherwise I would use them. The spare ribs I have had are like baby ribs though. The loin is the best pork I have ever had.

i use berkridge berkshire and i love it. I used the st louis ribs and loved the flavor but they were just too small for comps. I use the butts for comps and you can def tell the difference in the meat. first the flavor is much more rich than a regular butt and the meat is a lot darker. the amount of fat that is in a berkshire butt is incredible. i have cooked about 50 berk butts this summer and never had a problem with them being too small. duroc is completely different than berkshire. it basically a name for a commodity pig. im sure people will argue that point but its the truth.

A couple years ago I used s place in KC called Arrowhead Game Meat. Same issue Ryan had with not getting it cut how you want. Meaning money muscle wasn't very good or was chopped up. Spares were ok but too much money.

Myron Mixon used it this year in MIM. I think he came in third in the shoulder category.

Boshizzle said:

Myron Mixon used it this year in MIM. I think he came in third in the shoulder category.

Click to expand...

I'd say to check with Tuffy and see what he used...

I used it once, it was a Snake River and it was boneless, it was $5.99/lb and my normal butts are about $1.49/lb. I expected it to be some huge difference, I could detect none. Way to lean, and when boned, all the good gunk that cooks in a bone in that adds flavor was not there, waste of money in my mind.

Bentley said:

I used it once, it was a Snake River and it was boneless, it was $5.99/lb and my normal butts are about $1.49/lb. I expected it to be some huge difference, I could detect none. Way to lean, and when boned, all the good gunk that cooks in a bone in that adds flavor was not there, waste of money in my mind.

Click to expand...

thats funny because the berkridge butts are loaded with fat which is what i like about them. Lean is never an issue with them

Bentley, not that I would suggest paying $5.99 a pound would ever make sense, but, you had to have gotten a bad butt. Or Snake River is selling a poorly conceived product, as the Berkshire pork I have cooked is anything but lean.

I am adding this, to the OP's point, I doubt I would spend the money to buy Berkshire for a competition for several reasons, just one of which is cost.

1. I am of the belief that in competition, a product that tastes too far from the expected is risky, you could easily find that your difference maker is disliked.

2. I am not sure that everyone will like the stronger flavor of pork, as most folks have gotten used to the leaner commodity hog pork that we are all fed now.

3. If you cook it a little long, the advantage of the fat renders from the meat, the difference is most clear in faster cooking cuts like chops.

The best, finest and most flavorful pork I've every cooked was a Berkshire. Got some from the Fatted Calf in Napa. It was rolling around in the mud on Monday and was my plate on Friday...

I just read an ad in the last Bullsheet taken out by the Lotta Bull folks thanking their sponsors, one of which was Eden Farms, a consortium of farmers raising Berkshires in Iowa. Coincidence?

Got a couple butts in the freezer - one from the local grocer and another from a meat market specializing in locally raised Berkshire crosses. I plan to compare them and will try to remember to post opinions. The Berk cross was 2.89/lb, so I'd consider it for comps.

I recently finished reading Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and am currently reading "Pig Perfect" by Peter Kaminsky. Both books go into some detail describing the industrialization of American farming and the simultaneous loss of "old fashioned" flavors in many of the products we eat. Pork, like hot house tomatoes, farm-raised shrimp and dozens of other commodities, is now bred more for convenience and expedient marketing than taste.

Many of the Heritage breeds of pork have been pushed to near extinction in pursuit of "healthier", leaner, pork breeds. Ironically, the older breeds that were once finished in the pasture instead of fed all grain, generally have higher levels of monounsaturated fat (the good kind) than modern lean factory hogs.

Today's Berkshires and Durocs are also much smaller than their ancestors due to cross breeding by generations of farmers. Here's a cool website with info and resources regarding Heritage hog breeds and some folks efforts to help preserve them:

http://www.cochon555.com/home.php

Sorry if I got a bit off track, we now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

I've cooked whole 20lb+ Kurobuta pork shoulders from Snake River Farms at the Jack this year. Great product, really tasty. Not sure I'll continue using them in comp. Mostly for the reason Ryan points out, they butcher them different and are difficult to slice... great pulled meat though.