Cuts

There a lot of cuts to choose from between the rooter and the tooter. Ribs, bacon, pork chops, tenderloins, and more bacon, never fail to delight on the grill.

Most cuts of pork are readily available in all supermarkets and most are great on the grill. If you have the time, go low and slow with a pork shoulder. If you’re working hot and fast, a bone-in pork chop may be the best choice. Here are a few of the top cuts best suited for barbecue.

• Chops . Simple pork chops are an underrated choice for home grilling. At the time of this writing, I’ve become very enamored with pork chops. Lately, we’ve been purchasing bone-in, heritage breed, mid to thick-cut pork loin chops. These slabs of pork are very easy to prepare and the price cannot be beat. Add the extra boost in flavor you’ll get with the bone in and you’ve got a great grilled meal at a great price.
• Ribs . One of the most popular meats in barbecue is pork ribs. It’s surprising how many variations there are on this one part of the pig. You have the Saint Louis cut ribs, spare ribs, baby back ribs, country-style ribs, and even rib tips. (I think it’s demeaning to call them riblets). Just remember they’re all fair game on the grill, and they all require a long, low and slow smoke to get them tender. Baby backs are popular and they come from the top of the rib cage, nearest the spine of the pig. Spare ribs are from the lower portion of the ribs, nearest the belly. The Saint Louis cut is simply a trimmed-up version of the larger spare ribs. It’s simply tidying up the spares into that familiar long rectangular shape. When you trim a slab of spare ribs up “St Louis style” you’ll end up with a serving of, you guessed it, rib tips left over. Last, country-style ribs have no bones and are not really ribs but rather part of the shoulder meat.
• Shoulders or Butts. The difference in a shoulder versus a butt is distinct in human anatomy, but not as much on a pig. Counterintuitive to its name, the Butt is actually a portion of the top of pig’s forelegs or “shoulders.” The picnic shoulder is the smaller, lower portion of the shoulder. A whole shoulder makes for spectacular barbecue. But it can be too big for a lot of patio grills and smokers. Plus, it can be an all-day (and night) affair, so it’s not as common in the backyard.
• Hams. Hams come from the rear of the pig. It’s the real butt here. Hams are almost always found in the grocery store already cured and smoked. It’s still great on the grill as you really just need to warm it up, but it’s even better with added smoke, and can be served hot or chilled. Spiral cuts allow the ham to absorb added smoke and seasoning and make serving a breeze.
• Pork Loin. If you don’t cook with pork tenderloin, you’re missing out. This lean cut is great for both hot and fast grilling or low and slow adventures. The smaller pork tenderloin is very common in grocery stores and is the perfect size for a small family cookout. The larger pork loin cut has a bit more fat and is equally delicious. If you like it on the “pink side”, this is a good choice. There used to be a fear of trichinosis with rare pork roasts. However, a few years ago, the USDA reevaluated and loosened its safety recommendations on this. These days it is considered safe to serve pork on the “pink or “rare” side, if you wish.
• Bacon. I love bacon, but if I’m being honest, I don’t love grilling bacon. It’s prone to flare-ups and hard to nail the desired texture when you’re combining it with quicker cooking foods. Some of the comment trolls on YouTube don’t like it, but I often recommend using precooked bacon in appetizers like jalapeño poppers. It will cut your prep time, and it just helps foods cook more easily.
• Sausage, Franks, and Charcuterie…Oh my! Sausage can be any combination on meats, but pork is a go-to favorite. You can cure it for charcuterie and prosciutto or combine it with other meats. One trick to boost the fat and flavor quotient of leaner game meat is to grind it together with some fatty pork (shoulder). It makes for a more succulent sausage.

Sure, there are a few more cuts to choose from on a pig, like the shank and the jowl, even feet. But I’ll leave those to another day. I like PIG cuts and I cannot lie...

Techniques and Trends  

I would love to think that pork chops and ribs are an All-American barbecue invention. The fact is, pig farming has been around a lot longer than the USA. Mankind domesticated pigs from wild boars in East Asia thousands of years ago. Through time, we’ve ended up with the selection of various traits seen in different breeds today. The history books say Christopher Columbus brought pigs with him in his 1493 journey to Cuba, and explorer Hernando Desoto gets the credit for importing thirteen pigs with him when he landed in Florida, making him the real founding father of pork in the Americas.

These days the vast majority of US pork comes from only a few processing plants, which is something that caused a bit of a problem during the recent Covid-19 crisis of 2020. Typically, you’ll find mainly Yorkshire hogs in your big grocery stores. However, over the years, the typical US pig has gotten bigger and leaner. So much so, that in the 1980s, the National Pork Producers Council came up with the slogan “The Other White Meat.” The branding stuck. And with more targeted breeding, today’s swine is bigger, leaner, and perhaps less flavorful than ever.

Specialty Breeds

Although we’ve all seen and heard of different breeds of pigs, most people don’t really think they have a choice in the matter. Fear not, there is actually a growing trend in pork production that champions different breeds for different needs. This trend is an offshoot of the farm-to-table movement that promotes growing and buying local. Some prefer heritage breeds as an alternative to mass pork production. But I like it for another reason: Flavor. Better meat for better barbecue is a “trick” I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this book. This is where you can really work your meat magic. Here are a few of the heritage, or specialty breeds, of pork available, and the reasons they are beloved.

Berkshire

Berkshire hogs are an old English breed probably the most well known. These intelligent pigs are darker in color. They are sought after for better flavor and juiciness. Especially in high-end hams. Other than the Yorkshire pig, the Berkshire is the breed that is most easily found in stores. And there are further grades and families. For example, only special Berkshire hogs are given the level of distinction, “Kurobuta”, which carries a premium status similar to “Kobe” in the beef world.

Duroc

Duroc hogs are also noted for great juiciness with a mild flavor. They make for a premium pork chop.

Hampshire Pork

Hampshire is a breed that is sought after in the charcuterie world. It has a very lean meat that is great for salami and gourmet cured meats.

Iberico

Iberico Pork comes from a unique black Iberian pig that comes from the southern parts of Portugal and Spain. It is known for the flavor that comes from the pigs’ special diet of acorns and natural vegetation, which gives the meat a nutty flavor.

Mangalitsa

The Mangalitsa is very fatty and used for its gourmet-level lard in dishes like pâtés.

Tamworth

The Tamworth breed has been deemed the World’s Best Bacon pig.

Yorkshire

Yorkshire hogs are what most people in the United States will picture and purchase when it comes to pork. It has been bred to abundance and is usually the default choice in stores. It’s delicious and lean, but I’ve come to consider it the baseline in flavor compared to its counterparts.

These special breeds can be found on the menus of fancy restaurants, but they haven’t made it to too many butcher counters. I think it’s worth the hunt. I keep an updated list of resources on my website, BarbecueTricks.com. A few of the biggest online sources include Porter Road, Meat N’ Bone (check out their Iberico specials), Snake River Farms (with beautiful Kurobuta hams) and ButcherBox (Duroc and Berkshire flavorful pork chops). You can also talk to vendors at your local farmers’ markets. It’s fun to learn from the locals and also support their livelihoods. You’ll surely pay more for these special breeds, but you’ll be rewarded at the grill. There is an unexplainable depth to the pork flavor they bring to the grill.