Pork is the flesh of a domestic pig, the ancestor of a wild boar. It became domesticated living on refuse near human settlements, which is why this meat is regarded as being unclean by some religions including Judaism and Muslim. It is the most important meat in China, though it is rarely used in Japan, and pork is also widely consumed in America, France, England, Germany, and Scandinavia. Next to poultry, it is one of the cheapest meats available, with most cuts selling for under $2 a pound.
A male pig is called a boar, while a female is a sow, and the young are called either piglets, porkers, or sucking pigs, depending on their age. Pork has been classified by age and size since at least classical times, when the people of Greece considered suckling pigs to be a delicacy. It wasn't until the 19th century that recipes began calling for plain grilled cutlets and chops.
Pork has long been the prime candidate for curing since its fine-grained and well-lubricated meat emerges from the process in a succulent and delicious state, which remains juicy and tender when boiled, fried, or roasted.
Pigs have achieved a high-meat carcass with a thin coat of fat and large hams through selective breeding, diet, and butchering over the ages. They are fattened over six or seven months on cereal flours and tend to weigh about 200-220 pounds. In the past, pigs had longer legs and were fattened on potatoes and chestnuts, and not butchered until about 10-12 months old. They were considered to be the fattiest and least healthy of all the meats, which prompted the change by farmers. The downside is that pork products, especially chops and tenderloin, are now so lean that it must be cooked quickly to keep it from drying out. Because of this, pork is now recommended to be cooked at a range of 150-160 degrees Fahrenheit as opposed to the required temperature of 170 to 185F of yesteryear. The improved breeding techniques makes the problem with trichinosis parasites of the past a much smaller problem than it used to be, allowing pork to be cooked until it is slightly rosy, tender, and juicy.
The most common breeds of pig used for pork meat around the world include the Large White Yorkshire, Western White, Danish Landrace, and the Belgian Pietrain. While available year round in frozen form, pork is more plentiful from October to February.
Good quality pork can be identified by its firm, pink flesh, with no trace of moisture. Watch out for whitish and damp flesh from factory-farmed pig, which tends to have a bland taste, and meat that is flaccid, too red, or too fat, which comes from an older animal of mediocre quality.
Pink pork meat is sought after by cooks in most parts of the world, with the exception being Northern and Eastern France. The pink meat absorbs water better than white meat, and is often used in making pates, hams, and galantines in Paris.
Pork is graded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and given a rating of 1, 2, 3, 4, and utility. This rating is given based on the proportion of lean to fat on the animal. Whether graded or not, all pork used for intrastate commerce is subject to state or federal inspection for wholesomeness, to ensure the slaughtering and processing of the animal was done under sanitary conditions.
Pork can be frozen for 3-6 months when wrapped airtight, or stored loosely in a cold refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Both dry and moist heat methods are used in cooking pork. The dry-heat methods, reserved for the tender cuts from the loin and tenderloin, include roasting, grilling, sautéing, pan-frying, and stir-frying, while the tougher shoulder and leg cuts are cooked to tenderness by braising, stewing, or slow-roasting.
During slaughter, a pig's head and offal are removed and its body is cut in half. Following, is a look at the wide variety of parts and cuts, which are labeled according to their suitability for specific cooking methods, as well as some other definitions of pork products -
SPARERIB & BACKBONE: Moister than the fillet/loin, and soft and slightly fatty. They can be made into a stew, grilled or fried as chops, cut into cubes for kebabs, or used for making sausagemeat. Country-style ribs are cut from the shoulder blade end of the loin, while back ribs are cut from the shoulder blade end of the loin, as well as the loin's center section and its shoulder end.
HIND LOIN: More succulent and less fatty than the sparerib. Usually roasted.
TENDERLOIN: The middle part of the fillet, containing the tender juicy noisette.
GRILLADES: The French name for the thin blade steaks cut in a fan shape, which are flat and excellent for grilling or broiling.
LEG: Eaten fresh, cut into thick slices, grilled, braised, roasted, or used for kebabs. The knuckle is often used for stock.
HAND: Often used in pates or potee, and also roasted or sautéed. Pig hand is often braised on the bone, and then chopped.
BELLY: Spareribs and salt pork are drawn from the thick end of the belly, and it is also from this area which lardoons and strips for barding and larding are found.
CANADIAN BACON: Cured meat from the boneless center-cut loin, which is much leaner than most other pork products.
CRACKLINGS: Crispy pork skin produced through frying or roasting. It is used in the south to flavor cornbread and several vegetable dishes.
PANCETTA: Italian bacon which has been cured with salt and spices, but not smoked like American bacon. Pancetta often comes in sausage-shaped rolls and is thinly sliced for flavoring sauces, pasta dishes, stuffing, breads, and omelets.
SYLTE: Pickled belly of pork, rolled in crushed peppercorns and mustard seed and thinly sliced.
Pork fat, once a dietary staple, is used in modern cooking primarily as a seasoning or cooking fat. Pure pork fat, known in France as "lard gras," is usually used fresh and contains a "melting fat" layer used mostly for making lard, and a firmer "hard fat" layer which is used mostly in barding. Belly fat, which the French refer to as "lard maigre," consists of fat streaked with muscular tissue, and can be salted and smoked and used in cooking, such as with bacon.
Other British pork cuts include the blade, leg fillet, leg knuckle, hock, hand, and trotter, while there are also American cuts such as the blade shoulder, leg, side, and arm shoulder, and French cuts including tete (head), lard gras (fat), echine, palette, carres de cotes, cotes de filet, pointe, jambon, jambonneau arriere, poitrine (belly), a travers (spare ribs), epaule (palette & jambonneau), plat de cotes, jambonneau avvant, pieds (feet), gorge, and queue (tail).
Ham is generally made from the hind legs of pigs that tend to be older and heavier than those that yield fresh pork used elsewhere. Their meat is deep pink or clear red before the curing, and the fat is firm and white rather than ivory-colored. Hams are salted in any of countless salting procedures, from simple to complex, and the rare few are smoked before curing, which may change the color of the outside skin. After cured, almost all hams are smoked, while "gourmet" hams are often smoked for a longer time to ensure a stronger flavor. Specialty hams include Virginia (Grain-fed pigs with meat usually smoked over scented hickory and applewood), Smithfield (Cured and smoked in Smithfield, VI, spiced with pepper and heavily smoked), Kentucky (A drier flavor resulting from the pig's diet), York (Firm and tender, cured by the dry-cure method, and smoked over sawdust. The York ham is the best known of the British "boiling hams"), Suffolk (Traditionally cured in brine with spices and honey), Bradenham (An English ham with coal-black skin and deep red flesh, cured with molasses), Grammon/Wiltshire (Cured while a part of the whole pig), Jambon de Paris (French ham ready to be cooked), Jambon glace (Cooked French ham), Half-Hams, Dutch, Danish, and Polish.
Pork liver is ideal for use in pates and terrines. It has a strong flavor which can be mellowed by presoaking in milk beforehand.
Pork is eaten fresh, slightly salted, cured, or smoked. Rich and fatty, pork goes well with fruits like pineapple, apples, and prunes, as well as vegetable purees, green sweet bell peppers, mushrooms, fried onions, pepper sauce, garlic, or a Roquefort sauce. Pork can be garnished with beans and lentils, and its often flavored with herbs such as sage, thyme, chives, basil, and sweet marjoram. A cream sauce is sometimes used for lean fillet or chops, and pork is also sometimes marinated for several days in wine, vinegar, and herbs. It is often flavored with caraway in Germany and Eastern Europe, Paprika is used in Southeast Europe, the French often use garlic, rosemary, and juniper berries, Sweet peppers and chilies are important in Latin America's pork dishes, and coriander, garlic, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves are plentiful in the pork dishes of South America.
Pork is more commonly being served in dishes combined with seafood, especially clams and shrimp.
References:
Larousse Gastronomique; 2001; Pages 916 - 920
6001 Food Facts & Chef's Secrets; 1995; Pages 177
Food Lover's Companion; 2001; Pages 483 - 484
Cooking For Dummies; 2000; Page 207
Barnes & Noble Essentials of Cooking; 2001; Pages 68 - 70
Oxford Companion to Food; 1999; Page 623 - 624
Joy of Cooking; 1997; Pages 686 - 688
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