Special Pork from Japan

My friend, the Senator from Singapore (jmarzo), sent me this link about so-called special pork from Japan.

Does anybody have a knowledge of Tokyo X?

http://www.banffpork.ca/proc/2002pdf/BO11Makise.pdf

You can find Kurobuta pork at a number of Chicago restaurants. Based upon some quick internet research (and going a bit on memory of restaurants I have been to), some of the Chicago restaurants that I believe have served it, or do serve it, include Mulan, Rushmore, Naha, Zealous, Butter, Blackbird and Takkatsu. Essentially, it is considered to be the pork equivalent of Kobe beef -- more flavorful and more tender . . . and of course pricier.

HI,

Is this the 'black pork' sold at Chicago Food Corp? I've been told by reliable sources it is very special, though not specific to why it is special.

I once tried to buy the whole black pork belly, but they only had it sliced and partially frozen it seemed.

Regards,

My understanding, which may very well be misinformed, is that Kurobuta = Berkshire = Black Pork. I'm sure it's far more complicated than that in reality (similar to what, exactly, constitutes Kobe), but my understanding is that all three are the same breed... assuming the purveyors are using the terminology correctly.

Dmnkly wrote:My understanding, which may very well be misinformed, is that Kurobuta = Berkshire = Black Pork. I'm sure it's far more complicated than that in reality (similar to what, exactly, constitutes Kobe), but my understanding is that they're all the same breed... assuming the purveyors are using the terminology correctly.

Here's some info that confirms what Dom said above. Man, that picture looks good.

Is this the 'black pork' sold at Chicago Food Corp? I've been told by reliable sources it is very special, though not specific to why it is special.

I've been searching for an answer to this myself for some time, and I believe there are different answers depending on what part of the world you're in.

But according to the LA Times:

In recent months, bellies from flavorful "black pork" (also known as Berkshire pork, which can be a blend of breeds as opposed to Kurobuta, pure-bred Berkshire) have become more widely available, so competition among pork barbecue houses in Koreatown is on the rise.

http://www.calendarlive.com/dining/cl-fo-find26apr26,0,3270761.story?coll=cl-dining

There are restaurants all over Korea that specialize in black pork, frequently identified by pictures of the cute lil fellas on the signage. The black pigs raised on Jeju Island are especially prized--or reviled. It is said that in the past they had a special taste due to the practice of constructing outhouses over the pigpens. I thought it was pretty damn good but can't say that it, or the black pork from Chicago Food (or the late great F.D.L.T.) tastes all that unusual to me.

I had it-- or what was said to be it-- at Tahoe Galbi in LA. It was pretty good pork, but was it transcendently better pork? Not in the hubbub of a Korean BBQ meal. I'd like to try it well-prepared by a serious chef.

I can state unequivocally that there IS pork out there that is infinitely better than what we get here in the States. Whether this Black/Kurobuta/Berkshire of which we speak is it, I don't know. But I do know that in eating around Hong Kong and Shenzhen, I have come to the firm conclusion that American pork absolutely blows, and I anxiously await the arrival of tastier, fattier, more succulent varieties not just for my own enjoyment, but so that everybody I know here will finally understand that I'm not insane when I rail against American pork.

It's an obsession.

heritage foods usa...sells berkshire/kurabota/black pig..and red wattle and a number of other heritage breeds..prices aren't bad for the quality..

BillSFM spoke highly of the Kurobota Ham marketed by David Rosengarten for the 2005 holidays in the thread below:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... osengarten

Dmnkly wrote:I can state unequivocally that there IS pork out there that is infinitely better than what we get here in the States. Whether this Black/Kurobuta/Berkshire of which we speak is it, I don't know. But I do know that in eating around Hong Kong and Shenzhen, I have come to the firm conclusion that American pork absolutely blows, and I anxiously await the arrival of tastier, fattier, more succulent varieties not just for my own enjoyment, but so that everybody I know here will finally understand that I'm not insane when I rail against American pork.

It's an obsession.

I feel the same way about chicken. It's as if American farmers have bred all the flavor out of the birds.

HI,

I have wondered if the pork used in the scallion pancakes is made from this black pork at Ed's Potsticker House.

Regards,

My dad is a pork fanatic. For father's day I sent him Lobel's bone in ribeyes and I also sent him some Kurobata pork just to try. When he called he told me that while the ribeyes were good, that the pork was quite possibly the best thing he's ever tasted in his life. I seriously have never heard my father wax this rhapsodically about any kind of food...so despite having never tasted the fancy schmancy Japanese pork...I am sold.

And I might add...I'm set for life on gifts for Dad...which is absolutely invaluable!!!

Shannon

Came across this link about Tokyo X pork:

http://www.fpcj.jp/e/mres/videoarchive/002.html

Just in time for your fall pig roast...

I received my most recent edition of the Rosengarten Report yesterday in which David notes that the very fine New Jersey meat wholesaler/retailer D'Artagnan is selling whole Kurobata Hogs for delivery. It takes five days to get one to you.

God only knows what they must cost. If you're interested, you may try giving them a call:

D'Artagnan, Inc.
280 Wilson Avenue
Newark, NJ 07105
Phone: (800) 327-8246 ext. 0
Fax: (973) 465-1870
www.d'artagnan.com

As a side note, Dave has also procured a number of cuban style box smokers that he is making available to his subscribers at around $160 each.

I've ordered directly from Berkshire Meats in the past and have always been impressed with the flavor.

http://www.berkshiremeats.com/

buckeye beef out of atlanta has it as well, and will ship cryovac portions. they were sampling it @ the nra show the last couple yrs.

trixie-pea wrote:Came across this link about Tokyo X pork:

http://www.fpcj.jp/e/mres/videoarchive/002.html

why is there a shot of a black piggy performing water sports?

On Labor Day i had a nicely prepared boneless pork loin (as my father likes to put it, "in the Tuscan Style") of Kurobata pork. It was very well prepared and quite tasty pork but I can't say that it was anything special.

I was told that the pork loin was just as good as the chops I had sent them a few months prior....and while it was as yummy as most pork is to me, it didn't knock my socks off or anything.

I'm not sure it was worth the $90 bucks it took to buy it and ship it. I've had similar tasting pork from Whole Foods or other fine meat purveyors. For probably half the cost.

For those who care, the "Tuscan Style" my dad refers to is really a paste made of olive oil, kosher salt, pepper, bruised rosemary and garlic. Really tasty...

Shannon

We used Berkshire. I asked for the first 4 ribs, from the shoulder. Served as a bone in double-chop. I also took shanks and braised them. I feel there is a dramatic difference. Even just looking at the meat, I found a radically different character - much more intramuscular marbling, and heavily vascularized when compared to garden variety pork. Whereas I often brined White Marble Farms or other pork, I did everything I could to simply leave the Berkshire alone as it explodes with flavor and succulence. With it, we'd get comments like those from earthlydesire's dad - people absolutely blown away by what they tasted...."I have never had pork like this...!", etc. As with all our food, less to do with me and everything to do with the material itself.

By the way, a plug for no other reason than they were great to work with, (and we're out of business, so I don't get anything out of it), but Venison America sells Berkshire.

Sometimes the breed truly matters, but more, like most things, I find the breed is perhaps less important than where and how the animals were raised. Many times, as with Bordeau and its (historically embedded) classification system, there is a rep to uphold and the two things - marketing hype and actual quality control in breeding, sustaining, slaughtering, etc. - come together, on balance. Not always, obviously, as many here have found.

Tokyo X was the secret ingredient in an Iron Chef vs. Iron Chef battle -- Kobe vs. Kenichi.

Check your listings or program your Tivo to catch the one hour rerun of Tokyo X action. I don't remember too many details from the episode, but I do remember it was one of the tastier looking Iron Chef (Japan). They may have even tossed in some shark's fin or swallow's nest -- how luxurious.

I just returned from Tokyo were my friend Allan and I conducted a taste test between Tokyo-X and Kurobuta pork.

We chose center cut loin chops because these are the most miscooked cuts of meat. Typical complaints are that the meat drys out. Our thinking was if a quality pork can stand up to a quick cooking process, then any moisture surely would stem from the meat itself and not from a softening of tissue that you would get from say braising a pork shoulder.

Allan was kind enough to secure us the pork, while I tended to other errands. At first sight, the Kurobuta is beautifully marbled, while the Tokyo-X was a dark pink color and had a thick piece of fat on one side. My instincts told me that marbling would produce a jucier meat. At least that is what I have been lead to believe by the beef industry experts.

For cooking we chose to broil the pork so as to keep the taste pure. If we sauteed them in a pan, it would have created an additional element of carmelizing and we wanted to avoid other variables. A simply non-flavored oil was rubbed on top and neither salt nor pepper was added. Those came later at the table.

How did it taste? Well, let's say the decision was immediate and unnaimous. Tokyo-X is THE BEST PORK IN THE WORLD! I won't go into superlatives because I wouldn't be able to convey the flavors properly. However, what I can say is that because the cooking process was quick, it didn't give the fat any time to baste the meat. So it can be assumed that any "melt in your mouth" quality had to come from the genetic makeup of the animal itself. This was truly an eye opening experience for us.

Some earlier comments have equated Kurobuta, Black Pigs and Berkshire breeds, and from what I can gather this appears to be true. More than anything else it would seem to be a marketing issue. However, do not let any one tell you that Kurobua/Black/Bershire = Tokyo-X. They don't and never will! This newcomer to the pork world is a unique result of serious husbandry efforts and the Japanese quest for perfection.

Unfortunately for the rest of the world, you can only find Tokyo-X in Japan, but beware that most Japanese have never even heard of it and might even confuse other breeds. All I will say is that the secret is out and the pork world has a new benchmark.

Thanks Allan for arranging this great and flavorful challenge!

Jim
[/b]

Senator Marzo!

Thanks for contributing such fascinating stuff. Of course, it is cruel to declare Tokyo X "the best pork in the world" while it is unavailable to us in the States.

Question--what was the state of the meat when you procured it? Fresh? Vacuum sealed? Frozen?

trixie-pea

jmarzo wrote:I just returned from Tokyo were my friend Allan and I conducted a taste test between Tokyo-X and Kurobuta pork.

We chose center cut loin chops because these are the most miscooked cuts of meat. Typical complaints are that the meat drys out. Our thinking was if a quality pork can stand up to a quick cooking process, then any moisture surely would stem from the meat itself and not from a softening of tissue that you would get from say braising a pork shoulder.

Allan was kind enough to secure us the pork, while I tended to other errands. At first sight, the Kurobuta is beautifully marbled, while the Tokyo-X was a dark pink color and had a thick piece of fat on one side. My instincts told me that marbling would produce a jucier meat. At least that is what I have been lead to believe by the beef industry experts.

For cooking we chose to broil the pork so as to keep the taste pure. If we sauteed them in a pan, it would have created an additional element of carmelizing and we wanted to avoid other variables. A simply non-flavored oil was rubbed on top and neither salt nor pepper was added. Those came later at the table.

How did it taste? Well, let's say the decision was immediate and unnaimous. Tokyo-X is THE BEST PORK IN THE WORLD! I won't go into superlatives because I wouldn't be able to convey the flavors properly. However, what I can say is that because the cooking process was quick, it didn't give the fat any time to baste the meat. So it can be assumed that any "melt in your mouth" quality had to come from the genetic makeup of the animal itself. This was truly an eye opening experience for us.

Some earlier comments have equated Kurobuta, Black Pigs and Berkshire breeds, and from what I can gather this appears to be true. More than anything else it would seem to be a marketing issue. However, do not let any one tell you that Kurobua/Black/Bershire = Tokyo-X. They don't and never will! This newcomer to the pork world is a unique result of serious husbandry efforts and the Japanese quest for perfection.

Unfortunately for the rest of the world, you can only find Tokyo-X in Japan, but beware that most Japanese have never even heard of it and might even confuse other breeds. All I will say is that the secret is out and the pork world has a new benchmark.[/b]

Damn good research, James.

What was the price of Tokyo-X relative to the other premium pork types such as Kurabuta?

Trixie-pea & Pigmon,

The pork for both types was bought fresh. As far as I know, they don't offer a vacum sealed or frozen option. Regarding the cost, there is no question Tokyo-X is a lot more expensive. I asked Allan (since he bought it) and it is roughly 3 times more expensive than Kurobuta. I hope that helps as a reference point. Needless to say, I won't be having Tokyo-X anytime in the near future, especially since I live in Singapore!

Cheers,

Jim

jmarzo wrote:The pork for both types was bought fresh. As far as I know, they don't offer a vacum sealed or frozen option.

Jim,

Thanks for sharing the Tokyo-X info, a most interesting subject.

Have you read Peter Kaminsky's Pig Perfect? If not, I'm guessing it's a book you would enjoy reading.

Enjoy,
Gary