Beautiful Berkshire

It's not often that I get to purchase exceptional, rare cuts of meat. So when I stumbled across a gorgeous display of Berkshire pork belly and Australian-raised Wagyu beef steaks at the J-Town butcher counter, it felt like I had won the lottery. The butcher saw my eyes widen and chuckled at my obvious appetite for all things gourmet.

The Berkshire pig is a rare breed of swine originating from-- where else? -- Berkshire, England. In the 1800's, the English introduced the breed to Japan and North America where they have continued to thrive. Careful breeding has ensured the purity and quality of the stock. Berkshire pork is prized for the even marbling of the meat which gives it its flavor.

The thin strips of the Berkshire pork belly looked like supermarket bacon, but they cooked more evenly and remained light-colored even when fried to a crisp. The sensation on the palate was clean, not greasy. It also wasn't salty, which came as a surprise even though it shouldn't have -- bacon, of course, is salty because it is pork that has been cured in brine.

I used fried Berkshire strips instead of Canadian bacon when I cooked Eggs Benedict over the weekend. I also fried some minced garlic and green beans in the rendered fat and cut the oiliness with the addition of some astringent lemon juice; I topped it with two strips of the pork belly.

If bacon can make something as foul as brussel sprouts taste good, Berkshire pork would probably go with pretty much anything. The problem I face now is that I probably won't be able to go back to regular bacon. Berkshire has spoiled me.

(More about the Wagyu beef in another post...)