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Berkshire Pork

malcolmjolley

By malcolmjolley
in Cooking

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JoNorvelleWalker

JoNorvelleWalker

Posted
Posted

Ah, how could one resist?  Tonight was Berkshire pork.  A rib chop.  Voatsiperifery and fresh sage.  Pan searing was out of the question because the rib was nine inches and my largest frying pan has a flat surface of 8 inches.  (Clearly I need a new copper frying pan.)  Howbeit I cooked the rib sous vide and finished it on my Zojirushi indoor grill to a final rested temperature of 141 deg F.  Lovely crust.  And as rotuts has clearly demonstrated, Fahrenheit tastes far better than Celsius.  Particularly when sucking on the fat.

 

Google can tell me many things but it cannot tell me how to carve a pork chop.  Speaking of rotuts, even with a finely bubbled bottle of MR (Ryan Patrick Naked Chardonnay 2013, my favorite) I have half the rib chop left.  There are far worse things in life.

 

Refreshing my palate with a glass of Whistlepig as I write.  Baccarat Comtesse De Paris.

 

 

Cooking is cool.  And kitchen gear is even cooler.  -- Chad Ward

Whatever you crave, there's a dumpling for you. -- Hsiao-Ching Chou

  • 8 years later...
TdeV

TdeV

Posted
Posted

I have just purchased some Berkshire Pork Milanese chops from d'Artagnan (they are having a black friday week sale).

 

How should I cook them?

 

Can I sous vide them? Temp/time?

gfweb

gfweb

Posted
Posted (edited)
6 minutes ago, TdeV said:

I have just purchased some Berkshire Pork Milanese chops from d'Artagnan (they are having a black friday week sale).

 

How should I cook them?

 

Can I sous vide them? Temp/time?

 

They are already breaded?

 

How thick?

Edited by gfweb (log)
rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

@TdeV 

 

please consider some pics .

 

id decide how ' done ' do you want them .   I like pork

 

on the rare side , many do not  ( historical reasons ?)

 

if you think they are on the tender-er side :  6 H ?

 

tougher side ?  8 +  ?

 

your temp set point is probably the more important factor .

 

140 F ?  might appeal w time to tenderness next .

TdeV

TdeV

Posted
Posted

@rotuts, last time I did pork chop was a while ago. It was a 2" chop which I did 3.5 hours at 132ºF. Okay for DH, not well enough done for me.

 

I have notes that @Dave the Cook said 136-138ºF + 75 minutes, but I never actually tried that.

rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted (edited)

@TdeV 

 

I personally think 132 F pork , when tender is fantastic

 

I think you might enjoy the 136 F - 138 f .

 

extra time is not going to ruin anything if the bag is tightly sealed.

 

you might get some tenderness @ 75 minutes , but you'd get more w a coupe of hours.

 

and the extra time won't hurt anything. 

 

good luck !

Edited by rotuts (log)
  • Thanks 1
Dave the Cook

Dave the Cook

Posted
Posted

I agree with @gfweb's definition of Milanese. The only place I've seen a cut of pork called "Milanese" is on the D'Artagnan site, and I would call those "extreme" rib chops -- I think they come from the narrow end of the rib cage, where the shoulder meets the ribs. They're probably pretty tasty, but prone to toughness if not handled carefully. Seems like a great sous-vide candidate.

  • Like 3
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Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

TdeV

TdeV

Posted
Posted

Thanks all. The chops will be arriving 5 December - hope I can remember to come back to this thread!

Tropicalsenior

Tropicalsenior

Posted
Posted
30 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

Lidia does Milanese style and explicitly likes Berkshire pork . . . here:

https://www.today.com/recipes/lidia-bastianich-s-pork-chops-milanese-recipe-t174227

An excellent recipe. It's the only way that I've ever seen Pork Chops Milanese prepared.

I have seen recipes where the pork chops were pounded out but I don't think that it would be necessary with these.

  • Thanks 1
ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted

From ChefSteps:

 

Breaded pork chops sous vide?

I've cooked 1" thick pork chops sous vide, at 140 searing at the end many times with great results. I wanted to adapt a breaded pork chop recipe tonight, so I pre-seared, then sous vide at 140 for a couple of hours, then breaded and seared in 1/2" of oil in cast iron. The result was good, but not great because the "sear" heated up the chops too much.
Should I have sous-vided them 5 or 10 degrees lower? Is there any rule of thumb on this?
 
Log in to join the discussion
 
Chris YoungWorks at ChefSteps9 yr ago
Actually, what I would have done is to place them into the freezer right after they are cooked sous vide for about ten to fifteen minutes, and then breaded and fried them. They'll come out nice and hot, but without ending up overcooked.
 
Sounds good. Thanks.
 
Chris YoungWorks at ChefStepsSaraS9 yr ago
 
 
 
 

 

  • Thanks 1
rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted (edited)

Id offer this :

 

SV your Chop ( or anything else ) to your doneness temp  ( the bath temp )

 

and then use time for the tenderness you want , realizing different cuts of meat

 

from the same animal have different starting toughness.

 

at lower temps , that dont over contract the protein , you will retain juiciness 

 

and a longer time  140 F or even better lower temps 

 

dont dry the meat out.   4 hours ?  6 hours ?  8 hours   135 F    ?  probably all are fine

 

if the meat is tough to start with .

 

want to do the sear after the chop is cooked perfectly ? 

 

indeed SV doesn't do mallard at all .

 

chill the chop to the post that the sear does not heat the meat up over the bath temp.

 

Done.

 

most mistakes w SV are a carry over from  conventional delta cooking technique

 

and thinking , where the heat at the surface is higher than the temp at the center

 

of the meat.   time in that hot pan is donees , not tenderness.

 

 

 

Edited by rotuts (log)
  • Like 1
AlaMoi

AlaMoi

Posted
Posted

never done stuff sous vide - I prefer the old fashion way . . . .

 

we have a semi-local source for Berkshire pork

Rooster Street Butcher in Lititz PA

 

it's a hike but we generally go twice a year and stock up on really good pork.

  • Like 2
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rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted (edited)

@AlaMoi 

 

if you can get some tough Berkshite pork 

 

say the tasty muscle groups in the shoulder 

 

and then SV'd them 130 - 135 F until tender 

 

the chilled and seared 

 

you might enjoy the surprise on your  plate .

 

and if you sent w 130 F , until tender 

 

the rapidly chilled and refrigerated 

 

that hunk sliced thin while cold , then brought to room temp

 

might make the finest pork sandwich you've ever had.

Edited by rotuts (log)
  • Like 2
AlaMoi

AlaMoi

Posted
Posted

with minor differences . . . spot on to my madness.

7.5% brine - but not more than three hours

quick brown, low oven finish -

 

that's my usual for 'supermarket" pork - if one can get heirloom pork, the difference in taste & texture is pretty big . . .

but heirloom varieties are typically not in the supermarket.  I've been on our butcher's case for 10 years about retailing heirloom - but with no success.

it's a stand alone butcher shop - the customer base are folks looking for 'a cut above' - personally I think he's missing a big boat...

 

fwiw, these are the widely recognized 'heirloom' varieties / sources:

heritage pork Berkshire  www.heritagepork.com
heritage pork Berkshire + (?) www.dartagnan.com
heritage pork Berkshire fossilfarms.com  NJ
heritage pork Berkshire pig, Kurobuta is a heritage pork that comes from Japan.
heritage pork Berkshire Rooster Street 54 N Broad St, Lititz PA Thur 11a-3p Fri 11a-6p Sat 8a-5p Sun 8a-3
heritage pork breeds berkshire(UK) / Duroc / Old Spot / Tamworth / Large Black
heritage pork Duroc www.creekstonefarms.com "Duroc meat is crisp and clean   known for great marbling and polished texture its taste is approachable on the palate."
heritage pork http://www.heritagepork.com/aboutus
heritage pork https://cairncrestfarm.com/
heritage pork https://www.allenbrothers.com/category/shop-pork
heritage pork https://www.canterhillfarm.org/heritage-pork - Malvern PA Duroc & Berkshire
heritage pork https://www.dartagnan.com/
heritage pork https://www.snakeriverfarms.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=pork
heritage pork Mangalitsa pigs, Berkshire www.pastureprimewagyu.com FL
heritage pork red wattle "Described as a cross between pork and beef, Red Wattle is floral and robust, concentrated and bold"
heritage pork Red Wattle and heritage Gloucester Old Spot cross devonpointfarm.com CT
heritage pork Tamworth & Red Wattle - heritagefoods.com NYC
heritage pork Tamworth owensfarm.com (PA) 1/4 pig sampler $300
heritage pork www.wagonwheelranch.org - Mount Airy MD

  • Thanks 3
Raw/Cooked

Raw/Cooked

Posted
Posted
On 11/27/2023 at 4:17 PM, AlaMoi said:

 

that's my usual for 'supermarket" pork - if one can get heirloom pork, the difference in taste & texture is pretty big . . .

but heirloom varieties are typically not in the supermarket.  I've been on our butcher's case for 10 years about retailing heirloom - but with no success.

it's a stand alone butcher shop - the customer base are folks looking for 'a cut above' - personally I think he's missing a big boat...

 

 

I wonder if sourcing is an issue? From a producer's standpoint, it can be really difficult to make the financials of wholesaling work, unless you're farming at a certain level of scale (100's of hogs).

AlaMoi

AlaMoi

Posted
Posted

in our area,,,, at least,,,, seeking farms that raise heirloom pork is a pretty short search.

there aren't a lot of them, they focus on pastured pork, not magically 'finished' with grains etc.

and their annual production is rather small.  they are not into industrial pork production.....

 

one fellow told me just 2-3 (higher end) restaurants could completely absorb his total annual production - he actively restricts sales to them so that he has something left to sell at retail (with obviously better margins...) - heh, they gotta' feed their family!

 

altho Rooster Street has "fresh" - when I put a pick-up order it is frozen.  because they do not do 'industrial' they slaughter at specific times of the year.

outside of those time windows, it's frozen only....

usually I'll pick up a fresh/thawed tenderloin + a raft of frozen chops + 1-2 frozen tenderloin.

they raise only Berkshire; to get / try the other heirloom breeds is only via mail order.

  • Like 2
haresfur

haresfur

Posted
Posted

I can get Berkshire pork at my farmer's market but seldom do because it is far to porky for my taste. The tenderloin is ok. I understand with pork the sex makes a difference to the taste but they don't specify. If I want female pork I need to go to the Footscray Market in North Melbourne and it is far too much trouble to bring back on the train so I haven't tried to see if it makes a difference. Anyone have any experience with gendered pork?

It's almost never bad to feed someone.

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