Cuts of Meat and How To Cook Them - Pork

Best used in recipes such as: Pulled Pork, Braised Potatoes with Pork, Sausage

This portion of meat is tough as well. Since it has a lot of connective tissue too, it's often used for ground pork. It's also a great choice for pulled pork, since all that connective tissue will break down as it cooks slowly at a low temperature and become juicy and tender.

Ham:

From the back leg of the animal, this large piece of meat is a classic holiday entree. It can be sold as a fresh ham, which means it needs to be cooked for quite a long time, since it's such a large size, or already cured and smoked. If the ham is already cured and smoked, it technically doesn't need to be "cooked", just reheated, in which case you would cook it in the oven and most likely glaze it.

When choosing a ham, look for the shank end, it has one bone going straight down and is easier to carve later when you’re serving it at the table. You can certainly use the butt/sirloin end too, it will just be a little more challenging to cut. Spiral sliced ham is easier to slice too, since it’s already partly sliced for you. Another thing to watch out for is not to buy ham that has “water added” or is a “ham and water product”. These hams will have a spongy and wet texture.

Recipe: Glazed Holiday Ham 

Prosciutto is a dry cured and dry aged Italian ham, from Parma, Italy. You can also find domestic Prosciutto, but there is a distinct difference in taste and flavor. This stuff is incredibly delicious. Sliced thinly and served on a sandwich, with melon or on top of Chicken Saltimbocca, this ham is very flavorful, salty and nutty.

Serrano ham is similar, but it's a Spanish style cured ham, although it's cured for a shorter amount of time and dry aged at a higher altitude.

Recipe: Chicken Saltimbocca

• Baby Back Ribs vs. St. Lois Style/Spare Ribs:

Recipe: BBQ Ribs 

Pork Loin:

If this cut of meat is cooked properly, it is very tender and juicy. Since it's protected by the ribs and not well exercised, it's very tender. It also doesn't have a lot of fat or connective tissue, so it's very important not to overcook it. The loin is usually prepared as a roast, cut into pork chops and can be stuffed, glazed or grilled. There are many, many ways to prepare this cut of meat.

Rib Roast/Rack of Pork:

This cut of meat is actually the pork loin with the bones. Since it's cooked with the bone in and has a significant fat cap, this roast is especially juicy and moist. It's a breathtaking entree for a holiday dinner.

Canadian bacon is a misleading name, since it's not bacon at all, it's a cured and smoked meat  prepared from the loin.

Recipes: Eggs Benedict With Canadian Bacon, Roast Pork, Stuffed Pork Loin (I can't believe I haven't shared any recipes for pork loin, since I make it quite often, but I soon will)

Tenderloin:

Similar to the loin but much smaller, the tenderloin is very tender, lean and juicy, as long as it isn't overcooked. Cook this cut of meat quickly. It can be grilled, seared, roasted, stuffed and cut into fillets.

Recipe: Rum Glazed Pork Tenderloin With Pineapple Salsa

Country Style Ribs:

This cut of meat has both the dark meat from the shoulder and light meat from the loin; it's cut from the sirloin or rib end of the pork tenderloin. It's a very affordable option and can be prepared many different ways - braised, dry rubbed, brined, or prepared in a slow cooker. If you're cooking them in large pieces, it's best to cook them low and slow.

My favorite way of serving country style ribs is to pound them out thinly, brine them for a short amount of time and pan sear them quickly over a high heat. I'll definitely have to share the recipe with you guys soon.

Recipe: Pork Ruletiki With Mushroom Sauce

• • • Pork Belly: As the name already states, this cut of meat is taken from the belly of the pig. Fresh pork belly is awesome when it's cooked low and slow, braised, with a sauce, etc.

• • • Bacon: This is a very familiar pork option, very popular to serve for breakfast and to add to many, MANY dishes. Bacon is salted, sugared and cured or smoked and then cooked until it's crispy and golden brown.
    • Pancetta is most commonly known as Italian bacon. It's also used in the Slovania, Croatian and Spanish cuisines. The only difference is that it's not smoked, usually has peppercorns interspersed throughout and is rolled up or sometimes straight. It's great in many recipes, usually first cut into small cubes, called lardons and rendered. It adds a lot of flavor to sauces and soups.
    • Salt Pork: Slavic people know this as "salo". Made from the same cuts as bacon and it's salt cured but not smoked or cured.

• • • Blade Chop: Cut from the part of the pig that has the loin and the shoulder. Since the shoulder needs a long time to become tender, the best cooking method for these chops is to braise them for a long time.
    • Rib Chop: This pork chop comes from the center of the loin with the rib bone attached. Basically, it's cuts from the Rib Roast. It's a great choice for pan searing, grilling and for stuffing. The boneless option of this cut are the boneless center cup chops. They are very lean and beautiful to work with. Cook them quickly, over high heat. You can pan sear, grill, or bake them.
    • Center Cut Chop: This pork chop is very similar to a T-bone steak. It has a bone in the center and the loin on one side and the tenderloin on the other. This cut of meat is very lean but hard to cook since the bone in the center usually gets in the way. The best way to cook it is on the grill. Don't overcook this pork chop.
    • Sirloin Chop: This cut tends to be bony, and with parts of the loin, tenderloin and hip muscles. This chop is very hard to cook, since all of these different cuts of meat cook at different rates and temperatures. I don't choose this type of cut for cooking, since the meat will usually be very dry and tough.

I'll be sharing some of my favorite Pork Chop recipes with you in the near future as well.