BECAUSE OF ITS VERSATILITY, pork is enjoyed not only for family meals but also for special occasions. It is budget friendly and can be grilled, slow cooked, brined, stuffed or smoked with your preference of wood flavors. In this chapter, you will find many delicious ways not only to cook competition-style meats, but to make an elegant meal for company. On the next page is a listing of the most popular cuts of pork.
PORK LOIN: The large, tender loin is from the pig’s back, and it is best roasted. Lean pork loin can dry out if cooked beyond 140°F (60°C), so use an instant-read thermometer to make sure you cook it correctly. You can buy the loin bone-in or boneless.
PORK CHOPS: Pork chops come thin or thick cut; bone-in or boneless; and from the sirloin or from the shoulder, rib or center of the loin. To avoid overcooking, cook lean chops to an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C). For extra insurance against dried-out chops, brine them before cooking.
PORK BUTT: To coax the most from pork butt, slowly smoke, roast or braise it to tenderness. This cut, also called Boston butt, comes bone-in or boneless, weighs 6 to 8 pounds (2.7 to 3.6 kg) and is often shredded after cooking.
PICNIC SHOULDER: Just below the pork butt, where the pig’s front leg meets its torso, is the picnic shoulder, also called the pork shoulder. Like the pork butt, the shoulder is fatty and needs long cooking. The picnic shoulder has a considerable cap of fat and skin—perfect for making crackling. Don’t confuse picnic shoulders with picnic hams: the latter are smoked.
SPARERIBS: Cut from near the fatty belly of the pig, spareribs include the rib bones, the meat between them and the brisket bone near the pig’s chest. They can weigh more than 4 pounds (1.8 kg) per rack. St. Louis cut ribs fit better on a backyard grill because the bones and meat from the brisket section have been removed. They cook more quickly and evenly, too.
BABY BACK RIBS: These ribs come from the back of the pig, along the vertebrae. They’re smaller than spareribs, usually less than 2 pounds (910 g) per rack. These ribs have more meat and less connective tissue than spareribs do, which is good, but there is a drawback—baby backs are relatively lean, so they can easily dry out if overcooked.
COUNTRY-STYLE RIBS: These ribs are made from halved or butterflied rib chops from the blade shoulder end of the tenderloin. They contain both dark meat from the shoulder and light meat from the loin. Brining them keeps the white meat moist and pounding them to an even thickness helps the dark meat cook through faster.
PORK TENDERLOIN: Pork tenderloin, the muscle that runs down either side of the backbone, is lean, mild and tender. It’s the tenderest part of the pig. Sear tenderloins and then finish them on the cooler part of the grill using indirect heat. Before you start cooking, trim off the shiny membrane (silver skin).
FRESH HAM: Fresh ham is simply the pig’s upper hind leg. Whole fresh hams can weigh up to 25 pounds (11.3 kg), so they’re usually broken down into the sirloin (or “butt”) end closer to the torso and the tapered shank end. Tip: Brine fresh ham before cooking it to keep it moist.
CURED HAM: Cured hams are wet-cured in brine, while country hams are dry-cured in salt and then aged. If the label says anything more than “ham” or “ham with natural juices,” don’t buy it. Also avoid boneless hams, which can be spongy.
PORK BELLY: The fatty, succulent pork belly has become a hugely popular restaurant cut. Chefs braise and sear sections of the belly to create a dish that’s crisp on the outside and unctuous within. Bacon is pork belly that’s been salted, (usually) sugared and smoked. Pancetta, sometimes called Italian bacon, is similar but not smoked.
PORK SHANK: A cheap, low-cost item that’s often found in soups, pork shank is the lower leg region, below the knee. Shanks tend to be rather tough and require a lengthy cooking time to help the meat break down and become tender. While shanks are usually cooked using moist heat, such as braising, they’re also wonderful when prepared on the smoker.