Recently, it has become fashionable to defiantly refuse to consume pork – they say, it is boring, commonplace and, in addition, not very useful. Let’s leave these statements on the conscience of those who utter them: pork is still one of the most popular types of meat due to its low price, ease of preparation and high taste. Yes, to someone the taste of this meat may seem rustic – but this, as they say, means only one thing: “You just don’t know how to cook them.” Look here: – Pork secretos with artichokes and tapioca in red wine
– Salted pork neck with dried berries and wild mushrooms
– Pork with quince
– Baked brisket with apple and shrimp sauce – All of these are real-life dishes that the best chefs in the world do not hesitate to serve in their Michelin-starred restaurants. Are you so sure that you understand the matter better than they do? .. Well, let’s leave them alone, and we’ll go and choose a great piece of pork to make something tasty out of it. So let’s go.
I want to note that this article does not replace the classic 10 tips on how to choose the right meat, but complements them. We will talk about how to choose not just high-quality, but the most delicious pork.
Meat
I want to note that this article does not replace the classic 10 tips on how to choose the right meat, but complements them. We will talk about how to choose not just high-quality, but the most delicious pork. The pork should be pink, without iridescent overflow, the surface should be dry, the smell should be absent. The darker the color of the meat, the older the animal is (although not necessarily – this is highly dependent on nutrition) If you buy pork in a package, there should be no liquid in it, the same is true for pork lying on the counter: there should not be a puddle under it. All these are common truths and you, of course, know them, but looking only at meat, you can hardly choose the best piece. A lot more leads will give us fat.
Fat
Fat is an integral part of pork, and you don’t need to be afraid of it. Feel free to choose pork by the amount of fat: the more fat is deposited under the skin of the animal, the happier and more well-fed life it has lived. Nevertheless, fat should not replace meat if there is a lot of it, and there is little meat – something is wrong here. The second rule is that it is very desirable that this very fat is distributed over the meat as evenly as possible. The term “marbling”, which is usually used to describe the best beef, is also appropriate here. It is clear that fat is deposited differently in different parts of the body, but ideally, the best cuts should look something like this:
Skin and bones
Some cuts (such as the neck or tenderloin) are sold only peeled, while others (ham, brisket, etc.) may be with or without skin and bones. Your choice, of course, depends on the price and the dish you intend to cook, but all things being equal, I choose those pieces where the skin and / or bones have not been cut off.
What is good about lumps with leather? It helps keep the meat juicy and, if cooked correctly, makes a great crunchy addition to the main course itself. If you are going to bake a porchette or pork roll, the skin on the brisket should be cut in order to melt excess fat, and it will be easier to cut later.
If your knife is too hard to make such cuts, take a utility knife with a retractable blade, pull it out literally an inch, and it will go well. Bones with pieces have one undeniable merit. When baking or frying, the bone plays the role of a heat sink: such pieces take longer to cook (and the closer to the bone, the more time it takes for the meat to fry), but leaving the finished piece to lie down so that the juices are distributed inside, you will find that the meat turns out to be more juicy. than usual.
Cuts
Now – my small recommendations for specific cuts.
Tenderloin
Tenderloin is the leanest cut, so just follow the quality criteria outlined above. Bake the tenderloin in the oven, grill or cut into thick medallions and brown on both sides. Do not strive to cook it to a “clear juice”, it is better to let it lie down after frying, so that it will cook due to the residual heat: this will make the meat more juicy.Recipe: Grilled pork tenderloin
Brisket
When buying brisket, you can deviate from the rules you just read and choose one with less fat: in this case, there will still be enough of it, and the meat will turn out to be more tasty. If you are going to bake the brisket “as is”, buy it on the bones, if you roll it into a roll – pitted, but still on the skin.Recipe: Baked pork belly
Ribs
Try to buy young guinea ribs that have enough meat left on them. Here’s my favorite recipe: pork ribs with plum compote.Recipe: Pork ribs with honey and whiskey
T-bone cutlet
Choosing a tasty cutlet on the bone is not a trivial task. First, make sure the cut is straight. Secondly, there should be not just a little fat on the edge, but a little more. Thirdly, the ideal thickness is 2 cm, if the cutlets are thinner, they are unlikely to turn out juicy. Fourth – my main secret – look not so much at the central, round part of the cutlet as at the A-shaped part at the very end of the bone (for clarity, look at the photo – this part is on the upper right): the more pronounced the marbling is in this part , the more juicy the whole cutlet will turn out.Recipe: Pork escalopes with vegetables
Ham
I don’t often see skinned hams because they weigh quite a lot and it’s unlikely that you will be able to quickly sell such a hams. However, for baking, it is best to take just such a piece, or at least a cut on the bone: it will turn out to be juicier.Recipe: Stirrer
Knuckle
Everything is simple here: choose a fatter shank, with an even distribution of fat and smooth skin.Recipe: Pork knuckle with cabbage
Neck
Marbling, marbling and again marbling – these are the three criteria that should be followed when choosing a pork neck, no matter if you bake it whole, fry a pork steak or cook a barbecue. At the same time, remember that marbling and fat content often do not coincide – choose a piece where there will not be an excessive amount of fat.Recipe: Baked pork neck with onion sauce
In conclusion
At the very beginning, I did not refute the thesis that pork is not healthy. I’ll do it now. As I wrote in the jamon series, when properly nourished, pork fat is similar in composition to olive oil. By the way, the super-healthy Mediterranean diet does not shun pork at all – not only in Spain and Italy, but also in Portugal and France, pork ham is a recognized delicacy, and in Italy, moreover, they make lard, which is not much different from ours. So eat pork for health, and with pleasure!