Howdy, at my Rockport HEB and looking in the open meat case. They have these Heirloom Pork chops from Duroc pigs. What is an Heirloom pork of any cut? Have heard of Duroc's, why are they important? Chop has this long rib bone sticking out kinda like a Tomahawk steak, why do I want to pay for extra bone I cannot eat.

Any help is appreciated. Also, I have heard of Heirloom Tomatoes but do not know what they are either.

Thanks!

you aren't paying extra for the bone... it cost more per lb because it is a better piece of meat

they are excellent!

I'm not a food scientist, but I think using the term "heirloom" is more done to symbolize an older variety or breed. Modern vegetables are hybridized to create varieties that are more disease resistant, look nicer, can handle shipping more. Modern pork are to get breeds that grow faster, maybe have larger of the more desirable muscles (think breasts on chickens), or are leaner. You'll notice that taste really isn't included in all of that. By saying it is an "heirloom" you are implying that it tastes better without implying that the other stuff tastes bad. Marketing.

So the tomato isn't going to have a long shelf life and is going to look ugly on the counter, but tastes better. The duroc pig is going to have more fat, specifically the intramuscular fat.

Mark Fairchild said:

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Howdy, at my Rockport HEB and looking in the open meat case. They have these Heirloom Pork chops from Duroc pigs. What is an Heirloom pork of any cut? Have heard of Duroc's, why are they important? Chop has this long rib bone sticking out kinda like a Tomahawk steak, why do I want to pay for extra bone I cannot eat.

Any help is appreciated. Also, I have heard of Heirloom Tomatoes but do not know what they are either.

Thanks!

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Duroc is an older breed of pig. Most commercial pork is gong to be a Yorkshire or Cambrough or similar.

HEB is pretty good about using local where they can, odds are this is something that is sourced from a quasi-local operation. Ask the butcher, they should be able to tell you.

I've had those tomahawk heritage pork chops before, and they are damn good. They are what pork should taste like.

Marketing.