Pork collar snake river

Not a shoulder, butt or picnic so it's illegal. Besdies they ship at 4 lbs also not legal. Big thread over on Basso's about it a week or 2 ago. Apparnetly some folks have been cooking them.

Not legal.

From http://www.kcbs.us/pdf/KCBS-Rules-and-Regulations-2010.pdf :

Pork is defined as Boston Butt, Picnic or Whole Shoulder, weighing a minimum of five (5) pounds.

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When someone called up Snake River Farms, they did throw out a bunch of BBQ Teams that use them... Even a team that finished in the top for TOY standings... So just sayin...

A pork collar is illegal. Because it came from an area near the shoulder, does not make it part of the shoulder. That would be like saying you could use a ham, because it is attached to the hog. Or pork belly, etc....

I still like the idea of reps walking around at 10:00 am to inspect meat. Reps do this anyway to make sure everything is going well for cooks and to show them the official time.

Scottie said:

I still like the idea of reps walking around at 10:00 am to inspect meat.

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Not to get too far off topic, but I see problems with this: If the meat is still in a cooker at 10:00, then you have to open the cooker and release heat to show it to the rep. If the meat is wrapped in celophane, foil, and a towel, and sitting in a warm cooler with three other pieces of meat on top of it, that's even more disruptive.

I agree that the rules should be enforced, but I don't like this particular method of doing it....just MHO.

dmp

Any one have some pictures of pork collar that meat inspectors can refer to?

Can you tell it is pork collar just by looking?

I'd rather to lose some heat on my meat... Besides you can still put the WHOLE butt or brisket back on and not break any rules, than to get beat by teams that are cheating... this whole pork thing from parting to using different cuts of pork are ridiculous. I go out there with a pork butt and want to kick someone's ass with a pork butt. Now if folks are breaking rules like parting and using a cut of meat that is not legal, I guess that just levels the field for all of those that can't cook pork and will bring guys that can cook pork back to their inability too cook the category?

The penalty of people using illegal meats is a bigger one for me than me losing a little heat by opening my meat for inspection. And trust me, you are not losing any heat... My pork sits for 4 hours before I turn it in and it will burn my hands if I don't have special gloves on... So that is not a very good reason to make sure that teams aren't cheating with pork collar. In my opinion of course...

dmprantz said:

Not to get too far off topic, but I see problems with this: If the meat is still in a cooker at 10:00, then you have to open the cooker and release heat to show it to the rep. If the meat is wrapped in celophane, foil, and a towel, and sitting in a warm cooler with three other pieces of meat on top of it, that's even more disruptive.

I agree that the rules should be enforced, but I don't like this particular method of doing it....just MHO.

dmp

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I think you mis-understood a little bit. I was not even bringing up the whole parting or returning to the cooker thing. I was just talking about disruptive behaviour of requiring I go through a second meat inspection right when I'm in the middle of dealing getting one or more competition meats off the cooker and another on, and that to show my completed meat to some one I'd have to break whatever holding environment I've created for it. Sure it's an obstacle that could be overcome like most any other, but why punish the good? For my money and opinion, I'd rather see stricter rules around the original meat inspection: Actually train the meat inspector to know what a butt looks like. Require receipts or case labels or pack labels showing what you are serving. I work in software development, and there are two opposing ways to tackle piracy in that field: One is the Microsoft way of make it so hard to do anything that people resent you for it. The other is the Oracle way of realizing that if some one's gonna steal your product, he's gonna find a way to do it. Allow any one to use your software, but make it known that if some one is found in violation of the rules around it, he will be sued. If some one really wanted to flaunt this collar rule, he'd still bring a butt for inspection, still throw it on the cooker to show the rep at 10am, and do whatever he wanted with his collar. Is it worth punishing every one else for that? Trust in Kharma man

Anyway, if you feel strongly, let's continue this some where else. Otherwise, let's just agree to disagree, eh?

dmp

dmprantz said:

Not to get too far off topic, but I see problems with this: If the meat is still in a cooker at 10:00, then you have to open the cooker and release heat to show it to the rep. If the meat is wrapped in celophane, foil, and a towel, and sitting in a warm cooler with three other pieces of meat on top of it, that's even more disruptive.

I agree that the rules should be enforced, but I don't like this particular method of doing it....just MHO.

dmp

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If it's known that it's going to happen a cook can plan for it. Let the reps start, randomly at one end or the other, or the middle of the field and make the rounds.

It sounds excessive, but so does subbing a different cut of meat.

Collar roasts and parting can be consolidated into one inspection is my point. So I understood. I sure didn't mean in any way for this to go off in the pork parting debate...

Obstacle are only for the one's that don't cheat or that can follow the rules. Those that want to cheat are going to continue to try cheating and finding a edge... If you make it more difficult, it makes people think twice before cheating... Realistically, you are not going to lose anything by opening your cooker or opening your foil.

Scottie said:

Collar roasts and parting can be consolidated into one inspection is my point. So I understood. I sure didn't mean in any way for this to go off in the pork parting debate...

Obstacle are only for the one's that don't cheat or that can follow the rules. Those that want to cheat are going to continue to try cheating and finding a edge... If you make it more difficult, it makes people think twice before cheating... Realistically, you are not going to lose anything by opening your cooker or opening your foil.

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After a few minutes, of thinking about how to cheat, a 10 AM inspection solves nothing. A cook could pull illegal meat and place it in a hidden cooler, just as easily as they could hide it in a drink cooler during the initial meat inspection.

I just wish I could cook pork that placed

I can see how folks may have accidentally used an illegal piece of meat. I believe this is the original wording from their website:

The origins of Berkshire Pork, Kurobuta, date back almost 300 years when legend has ... Kurobuta Pork Collar (petite Boston Butt) 1 (approx. 5 lbs.) collar from $39.00

From this description, one would think it's just a small pork butt.
We considered ordering their KCBS pack from them last year. It doesn't appear to be available any longer.
The only thing that kept us from ordering was the "approx. 5lbs" verbage. It told us that we might waste money if the chunk came in on the smaller side.
I guess I'm glad we didn't go for it.

The page where you have to click to order the pork collar specifically states that it is 4 lbs.

http://store.snakeriverfarms.com/american-kurobuta-pork/pork-collars/

It slows teams down... what if they made the inspection at 11:00, 11:30 or at 12:30, right before pork is to be turned in?? Let's face it. This is not a perfect sport for enforcing rules. But if you put up road blocks, it stops some from cheating... Will it stop everyone? No. But a society that is built on following the rules and specifics, it doesn't make sense not to do it...

Jorge said:

After a few minutes, of thinking about how to cheat, a 10 AM inspection solves nothing. A cook could pull illegal meat and place it in a hidden cooler, just as easily as they could hide it in a drink cooler during the initial meat inspection.

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I think it really depends on the accuracy and use of their terminology.
The info below comes from official ECE document on pork cuts. I know we're not in Europe... but the cut below sounds like a butt to me.

Now I have no idea whether or not this is what Snake River is selling.
(Where are the buthers when you need them?)
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Collar butt – Special Trim * 4245


Collar butt or butt – special trim is prepared from shoulder upper half bone in (Item 4059) by the removal of the ribs, thoracic, cervical vertebrae and the shoulder lower half. The collar butt is the dorsal portion remaining after the shoulder lower half has been removed. All bone and cartilage is removed. The skin is removed from the collar butt surface. A strip of fat is retained on the lateral surface of the cut running parallel to the dorsal edge the length of the collar butt. Specify the width and thickness of the strip of fat to be retained.

To be specified:
· Specify fat cover requirements
· Specify fat trim level
· Specify length of tail distance from eye of meat

*Trade descriptions can be shown as Butt or Collar Butt – Special Trim.

IMHO inspections are not the answer. If it's made clear at the cooks meeting that a pork collar is illegal, then would people still use it? I don't think so. Now if somebody does use it then shame on them. Cheating to win just isn't part of this sport. Stretching the rules because it's not specifically stated may be considered cheating by some and not by others.

No way to stop parting or putting pork back on. Too easy to cheat if you really wanted. Bad rule. Cuts of meat - good rule. No microwave - good rule but with trailers, motorhomes, and ezup's with 4 sides down who know what is happening. Still a good rule. If people want to cheat they will. Some day they will slip up and end up out of the sport for 2 years with their record now in question just like the steroid boys of baseball.

And all you northerners need to take a vacation and come down to Florida and cook a contest just to relax.

How does a pork collar cook differently? Is it an advantage? The only advantage I see is one would be paying for 4 #'s of Berkshire instead of 8-9 #'s. Hmmmm..... actually after googling some pictures it looks like it's the part of the butt w/ the money muscle and no bone. I'll stick with commercial pork since the Hampshire and Berk butt's I've cooked have been excessively fatty. Slices of MM with a thick vein of fat isn't appealing to too many people.