Hog wild for heritage pork
Comeback breeds appeal to today’s consumers
Most people probably missed it, but pigs were flying in Milwaukee last month. Flying off the shelf, that is. In less than 24 short hours, Kettle Range Meat Company’s supply of Cinta Senese pork was snapped up. What caused this frantic run on pork? The craving for tender, buttery and intensely marbled chops from a rare Old World breed. The Cinta (Italian for belt or sash) Senese (originating near Siena in Tuscany, Italy) sold for $11.95 to $13.95 per pound. “Unfortunately, we only had four hogs,” said Mark Bearce, founder of Kettle Range Meat Company. “The demand was extraordinary, and we’re planning to get more as soon as possible.”
In the meantime, Kettle Range Meat, at 5501 W. State St., still has plenty of Red Wattle, another heritage pork breed, starting at $8.95 a pound.
“Red Wattle is our favorite, and it’s what we have in the fresh meat case most consistently,” Bearce said. “It has an excellent balance of flavor and marbling that our customers really appreciate.
“But every now and again we swap it out with other heritage breeds, including Berkshire, Duroc, Tamworth and Mangalitsa, so that our customers get the opportunity to appreciate the distinct flavors and qualities of these different breeds.”
What does heritage pork bring to the table for home cooks?
One southeastern Wisconsin heritage pig farmer sums it up in two words.
“Flavor and fat!” said Brandon Dykema of Dominion Valley Farm, a small family farm in Allenton that raises all its animals on pasture without hormones or antibiotics.
“The pork is a beautiful red color, definitely not white, has a nice combination of meat-to-fat ratio, and has a very clean taste and texture,” he said.
Dykema, a first-generation farmer, said he always respects the distinct nature of the pigs, allowing them to freely forage on pasture in sunlight and fresh air in what he called an optimal living environment. Dykema, his wife, Tammera, and their four sons raise rare Large Black and Tamworth heritage pigs, both of which do “exceptionally well on pasture,” he said.
“It’s not just about farming — it’s about stewardship of the land, working together as a family, properly caring for the animals.”
While heritage pork is often pasture-raised, not all necessarily is. Heritage pork may be organically raised, even exceeding organic standards, but not be certified, especially with small farms that opt to forgo the cost and paperwork involved. For pork peace of mind, inquire before you buy.
Here a pig, there a pig
Dominion Valley Farm pork is available directly on the farm by appointment, or at the Milwaukee County Winter Farmers Market through mid-April, and the West Bend Farmers Market from late May through October. The farm also regularly delivers to five Greater Milwaukee locations.
Stone Bank Farm Market, at N68-W33208 County Road K in a renovated Presbyterian church, sells a large selection of heritage pork from Waseda Farms, including tenderloin, chops (boneless and bone-in), shoulder roast, brats, ground pork, bacon and ham. Waseda Farms, located in Door County, raises Berkshire pork.
Kettle Range’s pork is also available at Good Harvest Market in Waukesha, and West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe both in West Allis and at the Milwaukee Public Market. It also supplies restaurants including Buckley’s, Black Sheep, Morel, The Farmer’s Wife and Cranky Al’s.
“We are actively seeking new wholesale and retail partners,” Bearce said.
As with other heirloom foods, heritage meat seems to be making a comeback.
The National Restaurant Association ranked heritage meat among the top food trends for 2018, according to Ryan Walker of the Livestock Conservancy.
The Livestock Conservancy is a national nonprofit organization committed to conserving endangered farm-animal breeds.
“In the 40 plus years the Conservancy has been around, we have not lost a breed on our Conservation Priority List to extinction, although there have been many close calls,” Walker said.
Dramatic pig tale
Turns out, lean pigs make for less-than-optimal pork (remember the fat-phobic ’90s when practically everything went low fat?).
But how did pigs, of all things, get so lean? Isn’t it natural for pigs to be portly?
This pig tale gets pretty dramatic.
“Since animal agriculture began, livestock populations tended to be diverse, with breeds tailored to meet the need and environs of local communities,” said Walker, of the Livestock Conservancy.
During the Great Depression and Second World War, pork efficiencies were emphasized during food shortages. Some breeds grew uniformly bigger and faster, and they began to dominate.
“During the early 1970s, there was another push to ‘modernize’ farming, and ag policy shifted to support a small number of large farms rather than a large number of small, diverse family farms,” Walker said. “Luckily, a small number of farmers held onto heritage breeds, many of them realizing the importance of maintaining diverse genetics by looking at the big picture, rather than the one single goal of increasing production.”
Unfortunately, at least 14 heritage pig breeds have become extinct along the way.
Walker said the U.S. is raising a whopping 71.7 million swine, as of last year, and the population is increasing. Most commercial pigs come from just four breeds; they represent a whopping 87% of the total hog population.
In stark contrast, heritage breeds make up less than 1%, amounting to fewer than than 10,000 pigs nationwide.
Critically rare breeds include Choctaw, Mulefoot (once the premier pig in the early 1900s) and Ossabaw Island pigs.
The Choctaw hog is a remarkable and recent example of a breed nearly lost.
The Choctaw hog “dwindled to only about 100 in 2013,” Walker said. “All of the remaining animals from the breed were located on a couple of farms within a few miles of each other in a small town in rural southeastern Oklahoma.
“Once again, we established a recovery project and the population is beginning to grow, although we don’t expect breeding stock to be available for another couple of years when the population becomes stable.”
Threatened breeds today include Gloucestershire Old Spots, Guinea Hog (not pig, that would be the rodent), Large Black and Red Wattle. Hereford and Tamworth, the so-called “bacon pig,” are on the watch list.
Walker said culinary trends for heritage pork look favorable. Americans are increasingly looking for food transparency, especially concerning animals.
“Consumers are moving away from processed foods and looking to meet their protein needs with products like heritage pork,” he said.
A nice sweet meat
Attention, home cooks! Your pork chops should never resemble cardboard. If your chops are dry and tasteless, maybe it’s the meat . . . not your cooking ability.
Pork shouldn’t require toil and troublesome recipes to taste good.
“You don’t need to smother your meat with sauces or marinades to make it taste great,” said Dominion Valley’s Tammera Dykema. “The pork is delicious and can stand alone.”
Generally, pastured pork needs less cooking time. The USDA safe internal temperature for non-ground pork is just 145 degrees, the same as for beef. The family’s tried-and-true pork recipes are found online.
“Our all-time favorite make-indoors recipe is Balsamic Pork Roast, listed in our pork recipe section of our website,” she said.
Bearce offered similar cooking advice.
“Don’t overcook it! For many years, we’ve been trained to cook our pork until it is well done,” he said. “Personally, if it is a high-quality heritage pig from a trusted source, I like it a little bit pink so that I can fully appreciate the juices and the marbling.”
Concerning bacon, Bearce explained the term “uncured.” Because Kettle Range uses no artificial nitrates in its bacon, the USDA requires it to be called uncured, when in fact all its bacon is naturally cured with celery juice powder and salt.
Other than uncured bacon, Kettle Range also sells three additional varieties: double smoked, sugar-free and a changeable butcher’s choice, such as black pepper or coffee.
Ironically, the way to preserve pig breeds is to eat them . . . more demand leads to more breeding.
So, feel free to go hog wild for heritage pork. You’ll be doing more than just enjoying a good piece of meat.
“Buying high-quality heritage pork from a trusted, local source is an act of conservation,” Bearce said. “By creating a healthy market for these animals, we are helping to conserve variety and genetic diversity. We’re choosing health and flavor over cheap and fast, If you can find smoked pork chops with the bone for this recipe, buy them without hesitation. Other than the salt and pepper, this easy recipe calls for only three ingredients besides the chops. The apple dissolves while cooking and provides additional sweetness to the pork and body to the gravy; it’s excellent with mashed or smashed potatoes.
The Waseda Farms bone-in heritage chops used in this recipe came from Stone Bank Farm Market at $10.49 per pound.
Bone-In Heritage Chops with Apple Gravy
Makes 4 thick chops
4 thick heritage pork chops with bone (1 inch or more in thickness)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1⁄2 teaspoon dried garlic powder
1 large or 2 small apples, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 tablespoons flour dissolved in jar of 2 cups water
Brown pork chops in olive oil over medium-high heat, using a large sauté pan or slow cooker pan if stove-top safe. After 3 minutes, salt and pepper, then flip, salt and pepper and brown another 3 minutes.
Transfer chops to slow cooker and add garlic powder and apples. Cook on low 7 to 8 hours. Just before serving, remove chops and cover to keep warm. Transfer apples and all juices to pan on stovetop over medium-high heat to make apple gravy. Add flour and water to a large jar and shake to mix. Whisk flour mixture from jar into pan. Cook until slightly thickened 1 to 2 minutes. Apple gravy may need additional salt; taste before serving. and we’re supporting small, diversified farms owned by passionate, caring people.”
Jennifer Rude Klett is a Wisconsin freelance writer of history, food, and Midwestern life. Contact her at jrudeklett.com.