Lobel's . . . (drumroll) . . . pork!

[Fat Guy]

Those of you eGulleters who have not been living under a rock (or in . . . oh, forget it) are aware of the majority view among our ranks that Lobel's steaks are the best steaks in the universe.

As of a few weeks ago, Lobel's has added pork from Berkshire hogs -- which it is calling Kurobuta Pork -- to its inventory. And I have some.

To wit, I am in possession of:

- 1 slab, approx 1.25 lbs, baby back ribs

- 2 approx 14 oz each, rib chops

- 1 approx 12 oz, pork tenderloin

I'm looking for some cooking advice. Bear in mind I'm trying to evaluate the quality of the product for critical purposes, so no ancho-chili rubs. Once we settle on recipes, I'll be moving on to the wine forum for some advice, then I will have a feast.

[MatthewB]

What about a simple naked roast on the tenderloin? Then choose your condiments, make a sauce, a relish or whatever.

Half a bite naked, half a bite with whatever you choose.

[Fat Guy]

What do you mean by naked roast? Just put it in the oven and let it cook? Or is there browning on the stovetop involved first? What about salt, pepper, and some sort of cooking fat?

[MatthewB]

What do you mean by naked roast? Just put it in the oven and let it cook? Or is there browning on the stovetop involved first? What about salt, pepper, and some sort of cooking fat?

How bout "barely clad"? Sure, brown on stovetop, if you'd like. Salt, pepper, & cooking fat, too.

Perhaps, "plain" might be a better word choice than naked. Or, just "simple"?

[Fat Guy]

Maybe that's the way to go. It's just that I've noticed so many pork recipes recommend apples and such. I wonder if those fruity ingredients mask the flavor of the meat or bring out special characteristics. I'm not particularly experienced at cooking any of these cuts, so I really need a primer. When I cook pork it's almost always bacon.

[docsconz]

I agree that "simple" is the way to go in order to evaluate the meat. A little salt and pepper and either grill or broil. I like the idea of having sebveral dipping sauces to try as well, although with Lobel's quality, the meat really shouldn't need much adornment. It would be interesting to cook it alongside a more conventional tenderloin and compare.

[MatthewB]

Maybe that's the way to go. It's just that I've noticed so many pork recipes recommend apples and such. I wonder if those fruity ingredients mask the flavor of the meat or bring out special characteristics. I'm not particularly experienced at cooking any of these cuts, so I really need a primer. When I cook pork it's almost always bacon.

I've been grilling pork tenderloins this summer.

Indirect method. Medium heat or a bit higher. Cover tenderloin(s) with a pie pan. Turn when necessary. About 15-20 minutes. I shoot for about ~145 internal degrees.

I guess I was thinking that you'd enjoy the sauce, relish, or whatever. However, you'd not want to eat the whole thing that way.

How about picking up a "standard" tenderloin & doing both for comparison?

(BTW, this summer I've been enjoying spicy mango "relishes" with pork tenderloin.)

Edit: About the same as doc.

Edited August 21, 2003 by MatthewB (log)

[docsconz]

I wonder if this breed is the same as "The large Black"?

An interesting aspect of the Lobel's ad is that they call it "Kurobuta" pork. This is strange because they say the breed is "Berkshire", which originated in England and that "Lobel’s Kurobuta pork is raised by small, Midwestern family farms, using all-natural production methods." While the breed was brought to Japan in the 19th century and apparently has thrived there, the breed apparently is still "Berkshire". I don't really understand the use of the name "Kurobuta". It sort of smacks of "Kobe" beef instead of "Wagyu"

Nevertheless, it sounds delicious.

[docsconz]

Another interesting comparison would be to get some heritage breed pork from Flying Pigs Farm in Shushan, NY. They are uvailable at the Union Square Greenmarket on Saturdays. That pork is a bit less expensive. It may be that the Lobel's is worth it, but then again, maybe not.

I may try a test of this myself this fall

[Jinmyo]

Steve, just sear the chops and bung into the oven for a bit. Salt, pepper, some EVOO. Perhaps some garlic. But no apples or jam or icing.

[Fat Guy]

How about the recipes on the Lobel's site that I linked to above? Any of them look appetizing to anybody?

[Jinmyo]

Not for the chops. Really. Go with the simplest preperation otherwise you'll never know. Or do an ancho chile thing on just one.

For the ribs...eh. In fact: egad. Honey, corn syrup, and hoisin? Hoisin is sweet enough.

For the tenderloin, wrap it in bacon at least. Or give it to Momo.

[mamster]

The most flavorful way to do tenderloin, I think, is to slice it into medallions, maybe 3/4" thick. You get more sear that way. If the Lobel's stuff is so good, maybe it won't have that less-than-zero flavor of supermarket tenderloin.

[Jason Perlow]

Fat Guy:

at the Lobels/Morrell event, the pork tenderloin was marinated in apple cider and then grilled. So I'd consider buying some of that unfiltered apple juice or maybe some of that cidre bouche stuff from France and marinating it in that.

Thats an extreme closeup of the portion I ate at the dinner, they referred to it as "Pork Filet Mignon"

[pjs]

Steve, just sear the chops and bung into the oven for a bit. Salt, pepper, some EVOO. Perhaps some garlic. But no apples or jam or icing.

That's what I'd do with the tenderloin.

Pork chops have always been a problem for me. Searing them over high heat doesn't deliver the same flavor punch as searing a good piece of beef. Maybe because it's become the other white meat.

My current favorite treatment of chops is to dust them in flour, dip them in eggwash, coat them in FRESH breadcrumbs--panko works, but not as well--and fry 'till slightly pink in the center. If they are large chops I finish them in the oven. Done right you get a extremely juicy chop with the flavor of the meat predominant. If you select your chops carefully these can be quite good.

FG, I'd love to see a picture of those chops.

PJ

[Fat Guy]

PJ, I'm sorry to say all our digital camera equipment is currently in Mongolia (seriously), but there are photos on the Lobel's site that I linked to above.

[Fat Guy]

Please forgive the lousy quality of these photos. All the good digital camera equipment is in the field right now, leaving me only with my Pencam which has no flash. But, here's the basic documentary of the first pork chop experiment.

After reading all the propaganda about the unique, meaty flavor and darker color of these chops, I decided to try to cook them sort of like a beef steak and sort of like a seared tuna steak -- in other words I wanted a good perimeter of cooked-through meat around a medium-rare to rare center. So I decided to brown under the broiler until it felt like a rare steak, and then let it finish in a 375 degree oven until it felt like a medium steak.

Here's the actual pork chop straight from the package:

And here it is salted, peppered, and olive-oiled:

This is the point at which I let it start roasting instead of broiling:

Meanwhile, I decided to cook some rice noodles and do them up with a sesame oil, sesame paste, and chili oil:

Here's my inelegantly plated dinner, demonstrating everything the budding chef shouldn't do in terms of presentation:

To my surprise, delight, and astonishment, however, the pork came out exactly as I had visualized it before cooking. Go figure:

And then of course there was Momo's portion

The pork chop turned out to be another best-of-its-kind product from Lobel's. The pattern of doneness allowed me to eat it in several ways and this pork definitely benefits from being cooked towards the medium-rare side -- that's just enough to develop the flavor without drying it out, though this is a juicy enough specimen that it can take a lot more heat than normal pork. It does, as promised, have an unfamiliar flavor -- it tastes like the other red meat not the other white meat. I wouldn't call it beefy, but maybe vealy. Add to that the sweet fattiness you'd expect from pork and a hint of charred bacony flavor from the exterior . . . yes, it was really good.

For the other chop, I plan to do a slow roast to a more uniform temperature. And I definitely need to put some slits in the exterior fat to prevent contraction.

[Jinmyo]

Hi Momo!

Yes, slit the fat so it doesn't curl while roasting.

I usually sear chops on all sides, including the fat.

I often serve them such that they are to be picked up by the bone and eaten with the hands. Biting through that seared fat into the meat is oine of the great carnivorous experiences.

(I often rub with salt pepper, minced garlic, chipotle paste, toasted cumin seeds. The smoke is deadly even with the exhaust fan on. But I can't help it. I have to do it.)

I'd love to eat Kurobuta-san.

[Nick]

Dear FG,

It would be nice if you remembered that we don't all have high-speed connections. With all those photos it took two minutes for this thread to load via modem. I waited, thinking I was going to see something extra special. Alas, except for Jason's photo, I saw pork one can usually get in a local market around here.

Yours truly,

Nick

[Fat Guy]

Nick if you don't want to view images in posts, go to My Controls and in your Board Settings just turn them off. If you have any further comments about images, please make them in the Site Talk area. They are not appropriate on the food threads. As for the suggestion that pork of this quality is available in your local market, consider yourself lucky. I assure you for most people it would be a rare luxury indeed.

[Jinmyo]

Nick, I liked the photos. And the Kurobuta is worth seeing. I expected it to be much darker.

[Nick]

Sorry to be down on the pork, except for Jason's shot. Just didn't see anything extra special. Sure, better than supermarket stuff, but... And then again, we have to remember that I'm the guy that thinks Penzeys is over-rated.

After I get back in my house in a few weeks I'll get some boneless spareribs from Fulton and Janey's and put up a pic.

Jin, you've got it! The fat is the best part! The only fat that equals pork fat is duck fat. Free range chicken fat comes in a close second.

[docsconz]

Where were the veggies?

The pork did indeed look wonderful

[Jinmyo]

Nick, I'd love to see that.

Goose fat can be great too. For roast potatoes, for example.

But some beef fat well balanced with meat can be really great too.

[Nick]

But some beef fat well balanced with meat can be really great too.

Good beef fat is hard to come by these days. For some reason the best crunchy, mouth filling beef fat I find is on T-bones. Once in awhile Fulton will get in a critter for slaughter that has such fat.