Posted by johngl
While wandering the aisles of Austin’s Central Market South the other day, the most glorious one spotted some Berkshire pork “porterhouse” chops. Back home in Iowa these were referred to as Iowa Chops by local grocers. It is about the only thing Iowa was proud enough to stamp with the state name. You sure as hell don’t see the Iowa Edition of a Chevy truck there.
Back on topic, Berkshire pork is real pig. Think of it as a sort of Wagyu of the pork world. Wagyu is the breed of beef that is referred to as Kobe. The Japanese even have a special name for the Berkshire pig, too: Kurobuta. It is known for it’s wonderful marbling and therefore its extreme porkiness. It looks different, it smells different, and it tastes different.
These golden browned beauties start out looking like this:
Note the color on these things. And the cut. All we are missing is the carrot weight.
See that area that is a little more reddish than the other parts? That is a piece of the pork tenderloin. On the other side of the the “T” shaped bone is the pork loin. Check out the marbling. Most pork loin these days is devoid of that kind of thing. Because of the big dietary fat scare of the 80′s and 90′s, farmers actually started breeding leaner pigs. That whole other white meat ad campaign was all about that. Pork isn’t supposed to be white. It is red meat and lets treat is as such.
Berkshire pigs originated in England. Sadly, there are only a hundred or so breeding sows left over there. They are being maintained by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. In the good old USA, there doesn’t seem to be a shortage. I see Berkshire pork at the farmers’ markets and local grocers on a regular basis.
These chops were seasoned only with salt and pepper and slathered in a bit of olive oil to facilitate browning. I think it worked fine:
Treat these like you would a pan-seared steak. A smoking hot hunk of cast iron is your best friend.
Before you slap these onto the cast iron, you might want to get your hash browns started. Grate some potatoes, squeeze out the excess moisture (really, squeeze them hard), then season with salt and pepper. Add some olive oil to the pan and toss them in there in a nice, even layer.
If you don’t squeeze out that fluid, you will steam your potatoes and they won’t get all golden colored.
These potatoes can be enhanced with onions, egg whites or whatever, but I kept them plain and ordinary. Finished with a couple of tablespoons of butter, these have a wonderfully crunchy exterior and a smooth and moist interior. Toss these onto a board when they are done and cut them like a pizza.
Just plate and serve:
The wine we had with this dinner was a 2004 Santa Ema Reserve Merlot from the Maipo Valley in Chile. Aged for ten months in French oak, it has a very dark color with purple edges and literally explodes with dark fruit flavors. It finishes with a little vanilla flavor (from the oak) and a hint of pepper. It’s a pretty hearty wine and probably would have gone better with a beef steak. However, the Berkshire was strong enough in flavor that it wasn’t overwhelmed by the wine.
Pick up some Berkshire pork…it’s not that other white meat.
You’re on!
John, I want that pork chop dinner next time I come to Austin!