PORK IS A MEAT I never buy. Rashers yes, but they are fat-rich black bacon rashers from Co Fermanagh. And I am not alone. At a recent conference of Euro-toques, an organisation representing almost 200 of Ireland’s top chefs, it was said that the standard of pork production in Ireland is too often poor. So poor that many of them don’t use it either.
Pig production is a pretty efficient business, very efficient and cost effective if you look at countries such as Denmark and Canada, but Irish producers claim it is hard to make money. You can blame this on the processors (too powerful and too few, in part because small abattoirs have been driven out of business); on labelling which is economical with the facts (pork meat of non-Irish origin which is processed here “becomes” Irish), but the fault really lies with us. We put up, or are apparently only prepared to pay, for meat that is too often dull, dry, boring and tasteless. How does anyone know this – there are few alternatives.
There are small producers, some of who have appeared in this column before, with a small numbers of pigs, often rare-breed (for which read slow growing and fat friendly, such as the Gloucestershire Old Spots) with delicious meat. But the Euro-toque chefs can’t find enough of them and because of economies of scale the meat is inevitably relatively expensive. These chefs are looking for a middle way, meat that has some more flavour and moisture, some more character.
The Euro-toques forum was really saying that a number of chefs – and arguably therefore a number of the public – could be willing to pay a bit more for pork if the end result was moist and succulent, full-flavoured and delicious. If better pork was available in restaurants, then home might follow.
In 2008 Ireland exported 131,000 tonnes of pigmeat, valued at €360 million at factory/manufacturer’s prices. But we also imported 75,000 tonnes valued at €237 million. In 2007 we ate more than €400 million of pork, bacon and sausages at retail prices. A tough business maybe, but also a big one. Could we eat more? And could we view Irish pork in the same light as we like to see Irish beef, which is to say better than beef from elsewhere?
Much has been made in recent years about the origin of meats. Buying Irish and buying local should mean buying the best – but that’s not always the case. Euro-toques has shown considerable foresight in pushing the issue of Irish pork on to the national agenda.
The challenge, really, is for consumers to stop saying that we are all happy eating the pork we can get. Much of it does and should meet “quality assurance” levels, but these say nothing about taste and flavour. Pork is eaten up and down the country by everyone. Bacon and rashers, sausages and puddings, they are all such an inherent part of our culture. Pork farmers want to produce meats with better eating quality but they need to be rewarded for the extra work required.
Pig breeds run into the hundreds, and feed and husbandry regime permutations are endless. Tell us honestly where it comes from, what it is, how it has been produced and most importantly, let us taste the difference. Then we can realistically judge if Gloucestershire Old Spots are worth it.