Do pork chops taste the same to you as they used to years ago?

[woodsprite]

If my mom did something different with it, I don't know what it was. It just doesn't taste very 'porky' to me, and the texture is different than I remember it. Pork loin seems a better fit, but pork chops seem different. Maybe it's the feed or the breeding practices that have changed the taste/texture some. I even tried getting pork chops for a family dinner from a higher end butcher shop, and didn't notice a lot of difference (certainly not $30 worth of difference!).

Just wondering if it's me and my old taste buds giving out. There are times that I experience the same with pre-ground beef, but if I get the meat and grind it myself, that fixes that problem.

[AndyS]

1. Nope, the new lean diet has removed a lot of flavor.

The loss of fat in muscle tissue reduces taste and results in a dry mealy texture.

The only way to consistantly get edible lean pork is to use sous vide and cook to 135f or less and sear in a hot skillet before plating.

[Kali]

3. or find heirloom breed pork direct from farmer, farmer market or some

specialty meat butchers/retailers.

[wryter2000]

9. Luckily, we have a place in Oakland that sells real meat

The chicken there tastes like no chicken you can find anywhere else. It's really expensive, but nowhere near what online buying costs. Partly because of the lack of shipping.

[Kali]

10. worth the price if you aren't feeding teenagers

[wryter2000]

13. That's for sure

LOL

[Chainfire]

2. I throw them out before ten years. ;)

No, I have not noticed a change in chops. When I cook them, no one else generally complains either.

[jimfields33]

4. I was talking to a friend about this very thing.

No matter how I try, I can’t get them even close to my mothers when I was a kid. I swear I thought I was the only one. Glad I’m not. Lol.

[Kali]

5. it is not you

it is breed, management/feed changes. pork is not raised the same as years ago.

you can get good pork but it costs more, of course. generally heirloom breeds. try direct from farm, farmers markets, specialty butchers.

[Marcus IM]

6. I've been experimenting with the air fryer w/good results

Usually I marinate then cook at full watts. Depending the size weight and heft of the meat it's usually done in about 18 minutes with a flip in the middle of the cook.

It did take a bit of experimenting.

[hippywife]

7. Taste fine to me.

I find there's such a thing as light and dark meat from different cuts that taste different from one another, but otherwise, same as usual.

[Mr.Bill]

8. Pork is a much leaner product than it was decades ago. n/t

[samnsara]

11. always been dry and tough

[wryter2000]

12. IMHO, they've rendered pork loin inedible

I guess you can stir fry it quickly. Any other method produces meat that is so dry you can barely choke it down.

The only cuts of pork I will buy are ribs and shoulder aka butt aka chuck. Then, you have to deal with too much fat (possibly) and lots of bones. I have learned how to debone a shoulder roast, more or less. I basically end up with two small roasts and some extra meat.

[yorkster]

16. I cook pork loin once in awhile. Cover it with sliced onions and peeled apple slices.

Also put a fair amount of red wine in the pan, then bake.
The wine, apples and onions help keep it tender. And you can make a reduced sauce and have egg noodles and peas along with..

[wryter2000]

22. It sounds like you're braising it

I guess that would work. It would make it tender.

[yorkster]

25. Plus adds flavor....n/t

[wryter2000]

29. It sounds like you're braising it

I guess that would work. It would make it tender.

[rsdsharp]

14. As many have mentioned, pork is much leaner than it used to be.

In addition, in many cases, pork is injected with a saline solution to help keep it from drying out during the cooking process to try to compensate for the lack of fat.

I don’t mean to be a smart ass, but most pork chops are taken from the loin. It’s exactly the same meat, except one is kept whole, and the other is cut into single serving portions.

[OAITW r.2.0]

15. I have the same problem with bacon.

I buy the generic store version most of the time. I've noticed that there is a lot less fat....but also a lot less taste.

Probably better for me, but taste counts for something...

[2naSalit]

17. It's the fat.

There's been a great reduction in fat in meats and that is what has all the flavor. I just get ribs or a roast anymore.

[sinkingfeeling]

18. Hogs are much leaner today. I have personally witnessed the changes. I have photos

of the Hampshire hogs my dad raised in the 30s and 40s. Then, my leaner, longer ones I raised in the 60s and they look like slobs compared to the breed today.

[Still Sensible]

19. They have left so little fat on them that they

have very little taste. Same thing with most tenderloins you buy for roasting. You pretty much have to come up with a good recipe to marinate the meat in before you cook it. With chops, you'll get more flavor if they are battered and fried, but I know lots of folks are trying to avoid fried foods.

[quitnesset]

20. The best pork chops

In my opinion, are the frenched chops at Trader Joe’s. Great taste when grilled.

[Warpy]

21. They're leaner and safer but the pigs suffer to make them that way

There was a routine when I was growing up, my dad would ask what's for dinner and my mother would say pork chops and he'd say let's go out to dinner and we did. I'd know for a fact she hadn't bought any for months. Back in the 60s, you had to cook pork to death to make sure it was safe. I wouldn't eat it, either.

These days, things have changed and the pigs are kept free of parasites, it's one of the advantages of farory farming. The meat is also leaner and more tender, a result of keeping the pigs confined with nothing to do but eat. That might be the difference you're tasting, the increased leanness.

[KT2000]

23. Ground beef as well

The ground beef I have purchased from grocery stores does not have much flavor. The beef I purchase that was grown on a local smaller ranch, with the same fat content, has flavor like the old days. The local ranch does not use antibiotics or hormones on their livestock.

[judesedit]

24. No. Funny you say that. I was just commenting on that to my friend. I thought maybe it was me.

Very bland. Whether baked or fried. Bacon still tastes good, but even that seems to be different. I was a vegetarian, but wasn't getting enough protein, so started eating meat again. I'm thinking I'll go back to not eating it. I love animals and I feel like a hypocrite eating it, anyway. Honestly, vegetables aren't the same either. Soil, water and air are depleted or full of chemicals. Bound to effect all that we and animals ingest.

Sorry for the negativity

[Major Nikon]

26. Pork shoulder might be a substitute

Pork loin is where pork chops come from, so it's the same cut.

Pork shoulder has more fat and flavor, but also has more connective tissue and as such favor cooking low and slow rather than frying as you would with a pork chop.

As previously mentioned, pork chops today have less fat and less flavor thanks to a public which demanded leaner cuts starting in the 90's with the low fat craze. What you can do is salt them and refrigerate overnight. The salt will draw out the moisture from the chop where it will mix with the salt and reabsorb back into the interior of the meat. What this will do is help the pork chop retain juices during cooking. The other thing is do not overcook them as since the meat is lean it will dry out very quickly if you overcook, and with the juices will go much of the flavor. You want to wind up with an internal temperature of 145F, but if you pull them off the grill or skillet at this temp they will overcook because carryover cooking will take them farther. When you pull depends on how thick your chops are. I use 2" chops so I pull mine at 135F and they end up at 145F after resting. For 1" chops you might want to pull at 140F.

Some people will recommend to brine them, but I stopped doing this years ago as I found salting them works much better. It takes longer, but it doesn't wash out pork flavor into the brine.

Another thing I do is take EVOO and your favorite herbs and mix in a blender, food processor, or stick blender. Drizzle over the chops right before serving.

[Eko]

27. I brine my before I cook it and it comes out great.

Eko.

[chowmama]

28. It's the newer, healthier 'other white meat'.

Often dry and tasteless because of the lack of fat and the commercial husbandry that keeps them from grazing around or getting any exercise. You can't cook it as long because of the dryness, so it doesn't get really tender, either.

Co-op pork from small organic farms is more expensive (but not as bad as a high-end butcher shop) and probably not as good for you, but it tastes a lot better. I'd rather have it less often, if I can enjoy it more.

[trof]

30. Hardly any fat marbling now.

Hogs are bred to be more lean (and tasteless).