June 13, 2009
Know Your Pork - Heritage Breeds of Pigs
We're pretty crazy about our Pork at Pork Barrel BBQ and we thought it might be interesting to give you a quick run down on some of the breeds of heritage pork that is available today.
Berkshire - The most popular breed of heritage pork is the Berkshire from England. The Berkshire is known for its sweet and well marbled flesh.
Duroc - A local favorite in the eastern United States, the Duroc provides juicy and full flavored meat.
Ossabaw - The Ossabaw is a feral bread of hog that comes from Ossabaw Island, Georgia. The bonus with this hog, whose meat is a bit gamy in flavor, is that it is packed with monounsaturated fat.
Red Wattle - The Red Wattle is a rare pig that comes from the South Pacific island of New Caledonia. This hog has a good meat to fat ratio that makes it great for curred meats and salumi (and who doesn't like good salumi?).
Tamworth - The Tamworth, another heritage breed from England, is also great for curred meats and sausages. Maybe most importantly, this breed is said to make the best bacon of any hog variety.
You most likely won't find these variates in your local grocery store or butcher shops, but thanks to the Internet you can order them online.
Check out the following websites for more information and to order these and other heritage breeds of pork.
Flying Pigs Farm - www.flyingpigsfarm.com
Heritage Foods USA - www.heritagefoodsusa.com
Heritage Pork - www.heritagepork.com
Preferred Meats - www.preferredmeats.com
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Very educational about the different breeds of pigs. Wow! I couldn't have named one breed let alone all of the ones you mentioned. I want to thank you for taking the time to come over to my place and comment. I want you to know I appreciate it very much! You have a super blog and are an inspiration to us all. Best to you!
ReplyDeleteI definitely recommend trying the heirloom breeds. . . so much more flavorful than the supermarket stuff.
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