Breed, dietary energy reduction and pig age significantly influenced the tenderness and palatability of pork from Duroc and Yorkshire pigs selected for extremes in backfat thickness. Cooked samples from the l. dorsi of Duroc or normally-fed pigs were tenderer, juicier and more desirable than those from Yorkshire pigs or those fed a reduced energy diet. There was a general trend for sample tenderness to decrease as the pigs increased in age from 85 to 392 days. However, this linear trend was significant for only three (DLN, YLN and YLR) of the eight groups studied. The panel was unable to detect a significant difference in palatability between high- and low-line pigs. Within each breed-line group, there was a consistent, but nonsignificant, trend toward tougher and less palatable pork from animals fed a diet reduced in energy. This trend was particularly noticeable among Yorkshire pigs. The factors studied were able to account for almost 70% of the variability in the panel over-all desirability score.