The Berkshire breed of pig is one of the heritage breeds. The Berkshire can be traced back to the herds from the British House of Windsor. Its dark meat is known for having a lot of intramuscular fat which translates to flavor and tenderness. We had some very tasty chops the other night so when we saw some Berkshire for sale at the farmers market we were happy. Hanson Family Farms who also offers dog training sold frozen cuts of Berkshire pork. We found a pork shoulder steak which weighed out at 2.7 pounds at 10.00/pd. Let’s fire up the smoker.
The Weber Smokey Mountain cooker was put into action tonight. A few chunks of apple wood fired by charcoal briquettes would be our fuel. The preparation would be simple dusting of our rub of the day. The meat was smoked for approximately 3 hours at 240 degrees. We did not really have a target temperature today. We just pulled it 20 minutes before dinner. It was pulled at 165 degrees and given a 15 minute rest. (Pork is done at 145 degrees and shoulder is usually cooked to 190 or higher for pulled pork). This steak looked and smelled fantastic.
The pork had a nutty mild beefy like flavor. This was porky delicious. Berkshire has a pork flavor that needs to be experienced. The texture was firm with a little chew and that may only because of our ending cooking temperature. Flavor trumped all on this meal. We served our pork in chunks with sides of stuffing and broccoli mustard slaw. Berkshire pork is a treat and we want to experience more.
Hanson Family Farms
7 comments:
Looks really good. our friends from St Louis introduced us to pork steak a couple of years ago and we really liked them.
Big Dude, Pork steaks are very versatile and easy to cook. Good stuff. If you ever come across some Berkshire give it a try.
Never seen this cut. It looks like a t-bone beef steak.
Greg, This is a cross slice from the Boston Butt roast. You probably would have to ask your butcher to cut it for you. Lots of fat for lots of flavor.
I love a good pork steak. That Berkshire cut looks great. Something else to add to the to do list.
Three Dogs BBQ, We do too. I just went back to the Farmers Market and bought some rib chops.
Looks great! Did you get this at the Richmond farmers market? I don't remember seeing meats for sale there...
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