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Our Berkshire Pigs & Berkshire Pork Cuts
Quite literally the royalty of all pork! Hoardweel Berkshire Pork is famed for its marbled, sweet and succulent flavour that is developed over time. Not to mention the crackling… This rarebreed has proven to be a favourite with us and our customers for long lasting flavour and tender meat, that we wouldn't choose any other.
What makes Berkshire pork special?
Berkshire pork is recognised across the world as a prestige meat. For anyone who has ever tasted Berkshire pork, you will know that the flavour is unlike any intensively reared and produced pork; the flavour is developed over time and with care.
Our pigs are bred and raised on the farm. Allowed to grow slowly to build up a good layer of fat, which is where this pork gets so much of its delicious flavour.
The ‘old fashioned’ taste that so many of our customers refer to is because this meat has no additives, it is pure, clean and very tender.
What is the history behind Berkshire pigs?
Berkshire pigs are very good natured and love to forage and root when kept outside. They have a very distinctive and recognisable look about them; black in colour with white markings down the face and on the socks and tail of the pigs. It’s this black coat that makes them resistant to sun burn and they have proven to be a very hardy breed.
Originating in the Thames Valley around 1790, it become a popular breed but fell out of favour in the 1900’s when other more commercial options became available to farmers, meaning the Berkshire’s numbers declined so much that it neared extinction.
This rarebreed’s numbers are now stable and has been recognised for the quality traits we all know today. The breed is especially popular in Japan where the pork is marketed at a premium.
How is Berkshire pork raised?
Berkshire Pigs are well suited to the outdoor environment that our pigs enjoy on Hoardweel Farm. We run a group of purebred sows and boars that are used to breed the litters of Berkshire piglets. These groups live outdoors on carefully selected ground which is ideal for their inquisitive, rooting nature that they love so much.
The piglets stay with their mother for approximately 8-10 weeks until they are weaned and then live together, growing and developing slowly on a mix of natural foraged roots, vegetation and grain.
We feel passionately about ensuring our pigs live a happy and social life, while they enjoy the interaction of being able to run, play and roll about whenever they like. This stress-free environment allows the animals to grow slowly and build up the inter-muscular fat which leads to the wonderful full flavoured pork that we love.
Other frequently asked Berkshire Pork questions
It is known as the Queen of Pork due to its beautiful marbling within the muscle which keeps the pork moist and succulent, with outstanding crackling. It is darker in colour than other pork also.
All pigs are kept outdoors for a better lifestyle and no antibiotics are used, nor are the pigs tails docked.
Berkshire benefits from long slow cooking to allow the fat to melt into the meat itself which keeps it flavoursome and moist.
In some parts of the world Berkshire Pork is better known than others, for example; in Japan, Berkshire Pork is known as Kurobuta, eating quality as with Wagyu, is second to none.
As a rarebreed pig, the Berkshire, is renowned for its flavour.
This is known as a shadow, it’s the hair folical that remains in the skin (rind) at the butchering stage. This cooks out when in the oven.
The reason you might not see it on commercially reared pork is because most pigs have white hair and is therefore not obvious at this stage when the meat is raw.
