Pork

HERITAGE BERKSHIRE PORK – A SUPERIOR PORK FOR THE DISCERNING

In post war decades, the breeding of “improved” white pig breeds had led to an improvement in growth rates and productivity but also to a reduction of intramuscular marbling, where the flavour and juiciness of pork reside. The result is pork that is often tasteless and dry.

Fortunately for those of us who long for the taste of old fashioned, home grown pork, Byron Bay Pork has held fast and maintained the original, delectable taste of purebred Berkshire pork. Research has shown that Berkshire pork not only has finer marbling, but also shorter muscles fibres (translates into more tender meat). In the United States, independent research from the University of Iowa ranked the Berkshire breed first in 22 out of 24 traits that influence tenderness and overall meat quality, verifying what we had known all along…..that Berkshire pork really is the “Rolls Royce” of the pig world.

Up to now, the major market for Berkshire pork was not Australia or the United States but Japan, where meat quality is taken very seriously. In Japan, Berkshire pork is called “Kurobuta” (Black Pork) and is prized as much as Wagyu beef.

Although the Berkshire’s genetic predisposition for flavour is important, the genetics of the Berkshire breed is only one third of the equation for producing superior tasting pork. Another third is related to the food the pig eats. Pigs are unusual in that the fat they eat is not broken down by the digestive process but deposited into the muscle intact. Pigs are, quite literally, what they eat. Feed a pig peanuts and the pork will end up with a peanut flavour. Give them pecans or apples and the meat will have a slightly nutty or fruity flavour. Byron Bay Pork includes Macadamia nut meal in the pigs specially formulated diets to ensure a subtle elegance in the flavour of their Berkshire pork. The bulk of the Berkshire pigs’ diet is Australian grown non GMA barley and wheat.

The third part of the “flavour equation” in great tasting pork is a low stress lifestyle. Stress causes call animals to produce energy at the expense of the intramuscular fat, resulting in dry, tough meat. For pigs, heat is a major stress factor, but Berkshire pigs thrive in the mild coastal climate of the Byron Bay region. (Even pigs enjoy the low stress, layed back Byron lifestyle!)

Producing quality pork is both an art and a science. We do our best to keep our pigs happy and comfortable during their time with us, and in return, the pigs reward us with pork that tastes better than any we’ve eaten.