Caw Caw Creek pork

Should be interesting. They have a nice of chefs they have worked with. Will be interested to hear how it goes for you.

Looks interesting.

Anytime you can get "fresh" it should be good. Really depends on the breed and genetics as to the end result.

Good luck, let us know what you think.

Keep the smoke simple and see if you notice a taste difference between it and what you have been cooking.

I doubt it's the pork our grandparents had. I love that stuff and it had tons of fat through the pig.

Ribs look a little small (weight wise), now sure how the get 2 lb spares but 3 lb St. Louis. It should be the other way around, but a 2lb spare is too small for me.

Just got home w the butt
7 lbs
Owner says to brine it... Said that I usually don't brine...but he strongly suggested it.
Heritage Berkshire pork.
Supposed to have great intramuscular fat
Gonna photo my start and finished product to post

gonna try to add photos







not an expert on cuts of pork.......but this doesn't look like the "butt" I am accustomed to from the local grocer.

Any comments?

looks like it's still got the skin on!

Don't understand the comment....

Can't wait to see how it turns out! The fat cap looks amazing! Looks kind of like a duroc.

Could be. I said Berkshire but I really don't know for sure. I picked it up for my buddy and didn't know to ask...nor do I profess to know what I am talking about although I believe the purveyor does have Duroc pigs as well. .... This is all new to me.

You can tell that from photos of the skin?

after actually reading the description on the caw caw creek website for the small shoulder roast, it describes it as still having the skin on, so my comment appears to be valid

I thought yer sig was a comment on the butt... "good example of a bad example... "

ready to smoke

Hey Astronaut,
I can smell it smoking from my house! What time do you need me there to taste test?

gonna check it at 4:30

bring me some tacos from Taco Boy and we can make a trade

quote:

Originally posted by Astronaut:
...
Owner says to brine it... Said that I usually don't brine...but he strongly suggested it.
Heritage Berkshire pork.

Really? That's like selling Prime meat and suggesting you inject it.

If it's the good stuff, you don't need to brine it and to brine a pork butt you need at least two days.

He's not very proud of his product if that's his suggestion.

Dunno... maybe he just isn't familiar w smoking / cookshack smoking in particular.. either way. I did brine overnight for what it is worth

quote:

Originally posted by Astronaut:
gonna check it at 4:30

bring me some tacos from Taco Boy and we can make a trade

Let me know next time your in town and I'll buy. Tacos don't travel well

What's the verdict? What did you brine it with? Did you inject it too?

Man I HATE these long pauses when we're dying to hear how the cook did and there's no answer. I guess as Tom Petty said:

The waiting is the hardest part


Hope you liked it - an unusual cut of meat to my eyes. Reminded me of living in Chile in 1999 - you go into a big chain grocery store or a meat shop and the cuts just were't what you were used to seeing in the States. Only thing that ever looked normal to me was a pork loin.

As to the cut,all small houses had their own manufacturing standards.

As Smithfield has been buying up every label in the country,they move them to their manufacture standard, to sell to the major users/buyers.Even if they save the "old" brand,it becomes a Smithfield.

This is why many comp cooks go with IBP from Sam's,or wherever.

The Berkshire and Duroc stll may have that other 30% internal fat and flavor from the feed and genetics.

When cooking them for comps,we noticed very distinct flavor differences to the mass market hogs.

They have a different "mouth feel",as well as taste.

It can be a shock to some judges,though.

Gotta get finish pics from my buddy (Ole Duroc)

Once smoked, the final product resembled my standard grocery butt when pulling - bone and all.
funny, b/c I was certain that there was no bone at all when I started.

It certainly had a "different" flavor than what I was used to .
Took it to right at 190 and FTC for about 30 minutes.

When pulling the meat, some seemed quite dry to me - but all combined together the end product was pretty standard / average with respect to moisture of the meat (subjectively).

Can't really describe the difference. Not quite "gamey" - but......different. Maybe along the lines of the difference between grass / grain fed beef.

I didn't keep much of it as I was smoking for someone else. Will have to check on his verdict. Will be trying more CawCaw Creek product - but may not invest in another butt as it was kinda pricey in comparison.

My understanding is that all of the farm's products are pretty outstanding.

Will get some final pics up when I can.

Once upon a time a buddy of mine raised two pigs (don't recall the breed) and asked me to smoke 2 of the butts. They looked exactly what Astronaut presented...heavy fat cap with skin on. I cut off the fat cap (went to the restaurant) rubbed and smoked them.

Both of had a flavor similar to what Astro described...a tad gamey...almost to the point of over-powering what we all expect good prok to taste like. To this day I don't know what caused it...gland penetration...what they were fed, somethng inherent to the breed?

Maybe that's why it was suggested they be brined? I agree with Smokin...having to brine a butt just doesn't make sense. If the flavor and moisture content require additional tweaking, there's something not right with the meat to begin with.

Astronaut I bet that taste was amazing! Nothing like 1st class Beef or Pork cooked to perfection!

quote:

Originally posted by Ole Duroc:
Astronaut I bet that taste was amazing! Nothing like 1st class Beef or Pork cooked to perfection!

Unless I'm misreading his report, amazing doesn't sound like the response.

I may be wrong, but it sounds like it's good quality, but the flavor isn't more/better than the regular way of cooking.

It's always good to try something new, but just because it's "custom" or "hyped" doesn't mean it's always better.

Taste buds tell the tale.

I buy and cook a lot of pastured/grass fed meat and poultry and can say they are different from the feed lot and grocery store products we are most accustomed to. Many of these animals are true athletes, on the move all day long. This will effect the meat muscle and one needs to prep and cook them accordingly. In my experience most of the grass fed beef, pastured chickens and forraging pigs just don't take well to the low and slow envirionment of a smoker. This is probably why the farmer suggested brining. I might try brining a Tamworth heritage breed shoulder I have in the freezer as an experiment.
Don't get me wrong, I love my grass fed Belted Galloways and Red Angus steaks and roasts but I doubt I'll try to bbq a brisket from one.

I wouldn't say that that the quality was poor, just different than a commercially raised animal.

Here is where I get most of my pork.
http://www.forestfed.com/
http://dragonflyfarms.com/

I prefer the heritage breed and humane raised pork to the commercially raised and steroided up animal. I agree it does effect the taste.