Cooking Pork

Posted by Tom in Cooking Pork | 0 comments

Cooking Pork is a relatively simple and straight forward process and yields some amazing results. Pork has a very distinctive flavour and its outer fat layer provides that tasty ‘pork crackling’ . Pork is famously accompanied with apple sauces in many pork recipes and for good reasons given the sweetness of the apple compliments itself perfectly with the savoury aspect of pork.

As with all meat cooking, how to cook pork depends on what cut of the animal you are cooking, the size and equipment being used. There are several popular cuts of pork staring with the shoulder, this is part of the pig which is constantly active and therefore is not as tender as other parts of the body. As a consequence, shoulder meat tends to be use mostly in casseroles although the shoulder can be boned and rolled resulting in a rolled shoulder cut which can be roasted to good effect. In some countries the foot or ‘trotter’ is also used and cooked for long periods and is considered a delicacy along with the head. In most cases however, the head meat is used in sausages which we will come onto in a moment.

Pork chops are a common favourite of many which can be grilled or roasted and are quick to cook. The pork chops are located along the spine of the pig and just nestled within the opposite side of the spine is the most tender cut of pork, the pork tenderloin. This is the ‘fillet steak’ of the pig and is used in more delicate recipes which require ultra tender meat which can be easily and quickly cooked, perfect for stir Fry’s and medallions.

Other cuts are the baby back ribs or spare ribs which are a lovely addition to your BBQ or equally tasty basted with a sauce and grilled. As mentioned earlier probably the most famous of the pork dishes is the traditional pork sausage. Usually mode from shoulder and off cut meat mixed with cereals and spices and a defined level of added pork fat makes for some hearty breakfasts.

Finally, we come to the legs of pork. These can be boned and rolled or with the bone in to be roasted in the oven. The leg meat is relatively tender and can also be used for pork escalopes or a more tender casserole pork.

As you can see pork is amazingly versatile and comes packed full of flavour and is also relatively cheap compared to other cuts of meat therefore represents value for money whilst being simple to cook. For lots of pork cooking ideas and tips check out our cooking pork section where you will find a host of ideas to help you get the best of what pork has to offer you and your family.