Strips of bacon, meatballs, pork loin and cubed ham glistened under heat lamps in the dining room of Duke’s Restaurant and Bar Wednesday afternoon.

Nearby was an oversized $150,000 check from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the Nicollet family whose pigs produced that buffet.

Compart Family Farms was awarded the USDA grant to market in other parts of the country their premium pork products, already available locally and in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

The Comparts call the meat from their Duroc hogs “the ‘Black Angus’ of pork.” And they are hoping to do with Compart Duroc pork what beef producers have done with Black Angus beef during the last decade: build a brand name synonymous with quality and good taste.

“This is the result of 55 years of breeding,” said Jim Compart, one of three brothers who make up the third generation of Compart pork producers, as he showed off packaged loins, chops and ribs.

Compart was especially proud of the dark pink color of the Duroc pork and its white streaks of intramuscular fat, called marbling. Both qualities, he said, make the meat tastier and juicier than most pork.

He said Compart Family Farms created a quality product through an intensive breeding program. They also closely monitor the diet of their purebred Durocs to produce uniform results, a key factor in marketing to restaurants.

Steve Wenzel, regional USDA Rural Development director, said the Value-Added Producer Grant program was developed to promote such unique agricultural products.

Wenzel said a higher profile for the Compart Duroc brand will bring more dollars to southern Minnesota. As Compart Family Farms grows, he said, the feed producers, veterinarians, pork processors and others who work with their hogs and pork products also will benefit.

For now, the Comparts plan to spread the word about Duroc pork by marketing to upscale restaurants in larger cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Chicago.

They began selling to restaurants in the Twin Cities area about 18 months ago. Now, Duroc pork is carried in metropolitan grocery chains such as Kowalski’s, Lunds, Byerly’s and some Cub Foods locations.

Locally, Compart Duroc is sold at Schmidt’s Meat Market in Nicollet and Ray’s Market in North Mankato.

First District Rep. Gil Gutknecht of Rochester, who sits on the House Agriculture Committee, said the USDA grant will give the Comparts the “little bit of a nudge” they need. After a few bites of Duroc pork, Gutknecht seemed sold on the brand already.

“I can see the day when people will be waiting in line to buy this class of pork product,” he said.