Difference in pork brands


 
Jeff R

Jeff R

TVWBB Pro
I can't believe I am asking this as I would never have given thought to any brands until becoming a BBQ snob, er I mean educated by this great site. Always thought meat was meat.

Are there differences between say IBP pork, Swift, etc.

I just used some IBP BB from my new Restaurant Depot membership. The Restaurant Depot experience is a whole nother topic. I was like an addict in a crack house.

Anyway, these were some of the best ribs I have had in a long time. Not sure if it was the because of the brand, or the fact that I havn't done BB since last year. Ever since I found St Louis trimmed at Costco, I have been doing them.

These BB were wider, and the bones seems to be rounder and normal looking as oppose to wide flat bones I remember on the swifts. No funky smell when opening the cryovac either. Also seemed like the entire rack was more uniform without as much of the big hunk of bones towards the end of the rack. The meat was also much better than I remember too.

Just wonderering if anyone else notices differences between brands?
 
Jeff, I make some of the same observations. From what I remember of all the IBP spares I've purchased, they all have come with the breast bone(?) trimmed off, and I find that to be a pretty big deal. So hands down, as to the butchering part of it, IBP spares beat out Excel, Smithfield, and all the Kroger and Tyson cheap enhanced ribs I have all too recently learned how to keep out the grocery cart.
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As to actual meat quality differences, supposedly pigs are pigs when it comes to big agriculture, so there's no consistent differences between the pork brands. That said, although I have NO experience with the Swift brand that I can remember, I've been generally satisfied with IBP pork.
 
I don't think you are being a snob just using common sense. I recently bought some BB's from Whole Foods and while they were very expensive, about $15 a rack, they were also the best ribs I've ever made. Now, I've gotten better at cooking ribs but I don't believe that I can claim all the credit. Start with a better product, end up with a better result. I don't know which brand I bought but I do know I've seen Niman Ranch pork products at WF in the past.
 
I get IBP at our Sam's. Seem to be better than any of the other brands I've tried.

Wonder if there is a specific variety or breed of pig that is supposed to be the best?
 
Factory farms have pretty much bred the flavour out pork to make it more appealing to the general public. The average loin or ribs you get don't come near the flavour you used to get 40-50 years ago, yes I'm an old geezer and I had to walk 5 miles through blizzards to get to school and it was uphill in both directions.

Heritage pork has a much better flavour and texture but unfortunately is much more expensive than the grocery store variety. Fortunately there is a determined group of farmers out there that are trying to bring back and save the heritage breeds from extinction.
 
Heritage pork has a much better flavour and texture but unfortunately is much more expensive than the grocery store variety. Fortunately there is a determined group of farmers out there that are trying to bring back and save the heritage breeds from extinction.
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Found some heritage pork locally, but it is twice the price per pound, $6 baby backs, $4 spares. May give it a try anyway to see if it is worth it for comps.
 
The price issue holds me back.

In addition, if you go that route, you would HAVE to adjust/reduce your rubs/seasonings to allow that taste to come through.
 
I have been much happier with the butchering on IBP than Swift. My local RD carries both, but sometimes only one or the other. They also have a new company out of Iowa. There butts have been fine but their ribs were not good, too thin.

Heritage pork has a much better flavour and texture but unfortunately is much more expensive than the grocery store variety. Fortunately there is a determined group of farmers out there that are trying to bring back and save the heritage breeds from extinction.
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I did a whole hog butchering class this weekend at a local specialty butcher. All of their pork is from a local heritage breed farm, and the guy who owns it was there. He said the same things as you, that all of the flavor has been bred out and what they want is fast growing consistent yield pork. His hogs take twice the amount of time to get to the same weight as the commercial pork.

For butts & ribs I go with the commercial (or commodity as he called it) pork and he even said, for most BBQ cuts and restaurants, it's hard to do heritage because of the price.

Since I am just a mile from the specialty shop I asked if he would deliver a whole hog to me on his weekly delivery to them. He said of course at a price of $3.00 / lb. I will probably do one in a couple weeks, break it down and share with some family members. At $3/lb it's not bad. I am paying $1.50/ this week for a 120# commercial hog.
 
I don't know about different brands but I like to be consistent and use the same one (Farmland All Natural) each time.
 
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