October 26, 2009

Pork breast, along with pork knuckle and belly ribs, may find a place on diners' plates in the next few years if the pork industry can help it--just as the pork belly made the leap from eggs' sidekick to a menu darling at four-star restaurants.

Budding interest in these under-utilized pork cuts couldn't come at a better time for pork producers. They are mired in debt: battered by high feed costs, the troubled economy and initial fears from the AH1N1 flu, originally called swine flu. All told, hog farmers have lost about US$4 billion in the last two years.

 

Creating interest in lesser-known cuts is one way to help the flagging sales of pork domestically. Given the success the National Pork Board had working with top chefs in making the pork belly a foodie favourite, the group is hoping for a repeat performance when it comes to other lesser-known pork products.

 

Three years ago--when pork producers were making record profits--the pork board worked with top chefs on the belly's makeover. Pork bellies are usually cut from the side of the hog and processed into bacon.

 

Jarrod Sutton, National Pork Board's assistant-vice president of channel marketing, said bacon has always been popular, but turning something that is traditionally processed into an eloquent dish only created more demand for the item.

 

Elway's Cherry Creek restaurant in Denver--owned by retired Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway--is one such up-scale eatery that popularized pork bellies as an appetizer or an accompaniment with another pork dish.

 

Tyler Wiard, Elway's executive chef, describes the pork belly as a bacon alternative that is similar in texture but doesn't taste the same. He touts the establishment's popular "breakfast for dinner" appetizer that features a braised and roasted pork belly with an over-easy duck egg and black truffle vinaigrette.

 

"It's a testament to the wait staff helping to promote the item, the customer tries it and they come back for more, which creates a snowball effect," said Wiard.

 

Now that the belly is upscale, the board hopes to take it to the masses to further boost sales. "Bellies are seen as more of a specialty-type item right now, but hopefully it will translate into something more commonplace in some of these more casual dining places," said Sutton.

 

One way is by marketing belly ribs, which are located along the side of the hog's stomach. Although they sometimes are sold by that name, they are increasingly being billed as a meaty brisket containing bones from the rib, or referred to as a meaty breast bone.

 

Belly ribs can be grilled, braised and sometimes boiled, and have been embraced by the Asian and Latino cultures, said Sutton.

 

Two other pork cuts are starting to see a higher profile--the pork breast, a shoulder item that can be grilled, and the knuckle, a two-pound roast from the leg. These items were cited by the board as far back as five years ago as marketing opportunities for meat packers due to their taste appeal and value for consumers. At the time, the market for those cuts was non-existent because they were either ground for sausage and hog-dog fillers, or exported. They are now distributed by Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) along with a few other retailers and are featured at some food service outlets.

 

Because the market for these products is still fairly small, the pork board doesn't break out sales of the cuts. Costco declined to comment. The pork pocket knuckle roast has been featured prominently at various cooking and BBQ competitions across the country, said Sutton.

 

A western-Chicago suburb grocer's meat department manager said there are several pork items that are cut from the shoulder that to some degree are receiving attention partly because of the industry's celebration of October as National Pork Month.

 

Pork shoulder roasts have been extremely popular, especially in pulled pork sandwiches, the meat manager said. The shoulder, she said, also produces a variety of country ribs which customers frequently request.

 

"Customers have been asking for shoulder roasts and country ribs, and at the same time I turn them on to my pulled pork recipe," she said. "We have little tags with those recipes on the corner of our packages as well."