In the Wall Shoprite on RT. 34 in the butcher case they also have a Kansas City porkchop which I found to be better then the Berkshire chop. Simply grilled with a rub of olive oil, garlic salt and black pepper.
I don’t have much history with or knowledge about pork chops. What’s the difference between Berkshire, Kansas City, Prime and plain old pork chops? I typically buy thin, bone-in chops as I usually prepare them marinated Vietnam Bistro style and then grill them.
Then these large fat pork chops would probably be of very little interest to you. Similar to beef steaks, the cuts depend on where they are located with the loin being the most desirable. The Birkshire chop is a marketing name for chops (similar to CAB in red meat) from pigs raised with less hormones etc. and suppose to provide a better porky taste than standard.
Bottom line given the price of pork vs. beef many restaurants are placing big fat pork chops (ala Semolina) on their menu’s because (big fat) meat eaters like me will enjoy them as much as a steak. However the profit on a big fat pork chop is 4x’s that of an equivalent steak, so that’s the true bottom line to it all.
I buy those because they’re cheap and tend to be gnarly - which we like. I’ve seen much thicker chops nearby but also the “fancy” ones in the fancy/specialty meat section and didn’t really know the differences. I’ve had Berkshire pork chops at restaurants but have yet to make them at home. It’s something on my list to try.
It’s honestly on my to-do list as well. Pork chops for me where always “shake and bake” with the Peter Brady side. That’s how my mother used to make them and that’s all pork chops ever really were to me growing up. However with their prominence on so many menu’s lately, I’ve found a renewed affection for them and want to do the exact same thing as you. The problem for me is my schedule is so day to day (night to night) it’s hard for me to meal plan, I want to brine those suckers for a day or two before I cook them and that’s been a bit challenging.
Good luck!! I’ll show you mine if you show me yours when we make them!!
I’m pretty sure my mother never made a pork chop in her life - though she did make a mean chopped liver.
Yeah - pork chops are everywhere. I’m always out to try new things. I’m not all that good about planning in advance and when I do more times than not something gets in the way. I’m gonna have to figure this one out. I can’t promise I’ll show you my first attempt…
You are correct, the USDA does not have any official pork grades. However as PP (pork popularity) has increased over the years, they have started issuing non-official grades to meat. As noted somewhere Shoprite sells a grade of pork in their butchers counter that they list as “prime”.
The best one I ever cooked myself was after Hurricane Sandy.
Our upstairs neighbor in Hoboken owned Trinity Restaurant in Hoboken and him and his wife rode their bikes to the restaurant and grabbed stuff out the freezer and the next night I grilled for everyone in our building.
They also grabbed many bottles of booze so it was great meal with drinks especially after a couple of days with no power and cleaning out the crawl space.
Those pork chops that night were the best I have ever made myself but I’m sure it also had to do with the circumstances
Funny you say this, you will never see me pick up a steak /prime rib bone to eat it. (I’ll carve the sh*t off a bone but never pick it up) However I am guilty of gnawing on a pork bone. (Or two or three…)
I usually save the bone for dessert. Speaking of desert, I met my mom for dinner last night at houlihans. That menu has calories listed for everything. You don’t think that one dessert, and a modest one at that, can easily be over 1000 calories.
My late father, who was a teenager during the depression, would chastise us to no end when we left even a scrap of meat on a pork chop bone. When he was done eating they looked like they had been boiled clean!