Pork

OK, this is a first for me, I've not been in this section before.

What I want to know is why I cant get pork chops how they used to be, thats with a an inch of fat around the outside and the skin, (crackling) still in tact.

All I seem to find is very poor looking, lean only, insipid things that tend to boil rather than roast.
Are they injecting loads of water into them, and where has the fat and skin gone?

I've not had a decent tender pork chop in years, and I mean a roasted one with crispy fat and crackling, not a partly boiled, very rare piece of stringy rubber.

Any ideas???

 

you need to get to a good local butchers shop, i know they are in decline but i can get chops like that at mine, plus he can tell you exactly where the meat was sourced and most is local produce. he will also cut the chops the thickness you ask for. oe find out if there is a farmers market near you - they might be able to help you

Loopy

 

You also should look for old or rare breeds. Modern fast growing pigs have been bred to be lean (which means no flavour :( ). Something like a Berkshire or a Gloucester Old Spot will be much better.
We buy most of our meat directly from source -- a friend being a small holder and another being a local farmer.
Try farmers' markets.

Steve

 

I saw a documentary about meat a while ago. Unfortunately it seems that meat suppliers are allowed to soak the meat in a mix of water and 'animal protein' (which animal's protein it is doesn't have to be mentioned). That's why its getting harder and harder to find proper meat.

It is still out there. My dad once bought some chops straight from the abattoir shop. It was the nicest I've ever tasted.

 

Thanks for the replys, I see the problem, supermarkets and the modern fad for fat free food, even if it is rubbish.
We dont actually have much in the way of real food in Kent, its all manufactured stuff, oh, we sometimes see highly expensive, organic or free range, but thats usually just so's than can charge a bit more, the actual meat is just the same.

I'm sure you are right about finding an old butchers shop, (I cant think of any around here), or pork from rare breeds, but how far do you need to go and how much is it likely to cost to get something that was normal 20yrs ago.

I eat mostly fish these days, as most meat seems very manufactured, since the fat was removed, along with the flavour.

 

I suspect you are buying your pork and meat from a supermarket Pete.
It's bred to be cheap and pumped full of water and whatever else to make it look good.
The truth is, to buy good quality meat is very expensive. It can be found in a good quality butcher shop. We are lucky enough to have a good butcher and game specialist here and a specialist pork butcher. The prices are huge compared with the supermarket but the quality of the meat is superb.
It's just a case of do you want to go for quality over quantity.
I would rather eat the best meat 2 or 3 times a week than supermarket stuff every day.
We all have to decide for ourselves.

 

Thanks for the information everyone.

Marley, I know that area quite well, just never been that far up the lane lol.

 

Yes I probably will Marley, when i'm out that way next and they are open.


I dont mind paying a bit extra, but it just seems strange the length we have to go to these days in order to get something that was normal only a few years ago.

 

Oh Marley its just weird, we have all these healthy eating nuts out there that wont eat anything unless the best parts have been taken out.
They all demand to know whats in processed food but when it comes to a piece of meat as long as there is no fat they dont care what else has been done to it.
Personally I dont think its cooked long enough to be healthy either but thats just me.
I'm no cook but I watch a few of the TV programmes.

Chickens force fed until they cant stand, etc. but thats another subject, cruel farming methods in order to produce what is inedible.

I think there was even some nutter of a doctor saying butter should be banned, you dont have to eat it if you dont want to, so what right have these idiots got to go around making such stupid statements.

I just cant understand how it got like this, but I'm sure Maggie Thatcher had something to do with it:hehe:

 

I've watched a few documentaries and read a few bits and pieces about this (though that doesn't make me an expert so if you're interested, perhaps you should dig about a bit before taking my word).

The problem seems to have a number of contributing factors (incidentally, I am reserving judgment on all of this - this is just what I've learned, make of it what you will).

First up, there is no denying that we live in an age where profit comes before everything else. There are two ways to increase profit. Either you increase income (increasing prices can reduce demand so that's difficult), or you can reduce cost. The latter is the common approach. The worst case I've heard of is that of the Dutch 'super farms', where pigs as treated more as hydroponically grown vegetables than as animals. Packed in like sardines, never seeing daylight, and being pumped up introveinously with all manner of nasties to make them grow big very quickly. Regardless of how or where an animal was reared, it is commonplace apparently (and perfectly legal) to inject the meat with a mix of water and animal protein to make it swell so you effectively get more 'meat' for your money.

Secondly, there is a twofold problem. World population has trippled in a single lifetime, from 2 billion what Mr Attenburgh was a kid to 6 billion now, and the average person's meat consumption has also increased. This means we face a choice. We either eat less meat each, or we stick with the mass produced rubbish that we get today. Certainly there are other options, but they are few and far between these days.

Thirdly, there is changing attitude towards food in general. We (and I don't mean just the British) are a wasteful bunch. You've pointed out a good example of this in asking where the rind has gone from your chops. Some perfectly good crackling has probably just been discarded. There was a time when very little of an animal that went to slaughter would be wasted. A cow for example would be stripped of its hyde for leather, the meat would be sold, its internal organs would be sold for food, and its bones would be boiled for stock. It is now common practice for a cow to be slaughtered for its hyde and then discarded, while another is slaughtered for its meat and its hyde is discarded. The use of ophal as food is diminishing, and many of today's generation would freak at the suggestion of boiling bones for stock (in fact during the BSE scare I think it became illegal for a while to sell beef bones).

One thing that has always puzzled me with our attitude towards meat is this: We know that certain wild animals need to be controlled because they can be destructive. Rabbits is a prime example. We know that the meat of rabbits (for example) is very tasty, and we know that people will pay money to shooting clubs for the privilege of going shooting these animals. Yet we rarely see the meat in the shops.

Another problem I think exists is that rules and regulations which were designed to protect everyone (so in a sense are a good thing) also restrict smaller potential producers. If you own a few acres of land, you might think it would be a good idea to raise a few animals on it to slaughter and sell as proper meat. Imagine, free roaming, grass fed animals raised within a few miles of you and being on your table within a couple of days of being slaughtered. Meat that is not pumped up with all sorts of nasties and inflated with water, all without taking away from the mass producers. Sounds great yes? But then if that land owner is just an ordinary bloke with very limited finances, it isn't going to happen. The rules and regulations, not just for animal welfare and disease control, but often overlooked things like planning permission for animal shelters etc, just mean that it is too expensive or complicated or both.

 

Good point about the rules and regs Clueless - a neighbour at the end of our road had turkeys for years - and sold them to neighbours and friends for a decent price come Christmas time. But, I think the limit is 30?, when he increased his flock size (and he has the room to do so), there was all kinds of red tape etc through DEFRA - and for a small guy who wanted to keep it organic and economical to pass them on it just wasn't worth his time and hassle.

To overcome that this year, a few of us have gotten together, we will raise the turkeys, the ex turkey farmer will slaughter (we couldn't do it!) and the neighbour next to us who used to pluck and clean for the ex turkey farmer, will do the same for our turkeys. We then plan on 'gifting' about 20 turkeys - as we need to keep the number down due to our pet ducks who give us eggs.

In terms of meat - we are drastically cutting down on the quantity of meat that we eat - choosing some vegetarian options through the week, and buying meat only from our local butcher who rears his own stock. We can walk up there and pick up our meat on a Friday/Saturday, and KNOW that it's going to be tasty. The beef has matured properly, never had a disappointing cut from him yet.

This year he is actually giving us one of the spring lambs to nurture over the summer - and the lamb will go back to him in the fall as a breeder. I love lamb, but would have a problem slaughtering something I've bottle fed (or sending to slaughter), and I'd love to have a pet lamb, but don't want a pet sheep.....so this is a good alternative!

Personally I don't see the point of buying cheap meats that taste like cardboard, I'd rather go for the quality and enjoy the experience of the meal.

Pete - if you ever get to that butcher that I sent you the details of - he does often have pigeon, rabbit etc. on the boards!