As you can see, I decided to take a break from featuring ingredients to talk about something that is just as important as seasonings when cooking: knowing your cuts of meat.

Specifically, I am focusing on pork because it ties into my own recipe that I am trying this week.

When I was prepping meals yesterday (I try to do this a couple days in advance for my planned meals because it takes a lot of pressure off by doing what I can when I have time), I asked my husband to pull the pork loin out of the freezer to unthaw in the fridge. I didn’t think much of it until I opened the fridge this morning and realized that he had put the pork tenderloin in the fridge instead. No biggie, I just pulled out the pork loin and stuck the tenderloin back in the freezer.

However, it got me thinking, how many people have this problem? And what does it really matter? The fact is that the cut of meat you choose can drastically change a dish. The flavor within them, the way they break down as they cook, even the amount of how much they shrink when heated can alter both a recipe’s flavor and functionality. So, with the help of pork.org, I wanted to give quick break down of pork cuts, their purpose, and their differences for the often confused.

• Pork Loin vs. Pork Tenderloin

Both of these cuts are from the area of the pig between the shoulder and the beginning of the leg but that is where the similarities end. A pork loin roast is typically sold in pieces weighing 2-4 pounds while the tenderloin is a smaller, long cut that usually weighs about a pound. While both are fairly lean cuts, the pork loin does have a higher fat content and often still contains attached pieces of the fat back, whereas a cleaned pork tenderloin is just as lean as boneless, skinless chicken breast.

They cook down differently, too. Pork loin roasts are delicious when brined or rubbed with a spice mixture and barbecued over indirect heat, but they don’t hold up well in moist heat cooking like stews as the pieces will get tough and fall apart. While pork tenderloin will also fall apart if stewed, it can hold up to being sauteed as well as grilled and roasted and never gets tough.

Pork loin should be cooked from 145-160˚F, but pork tenderloin should be cooked to 145˚F and then rested for a few minutes before cutting.

• Pork Chops

Pork chops are the most popular cut of pork. They come from the loin which is the meat that runs from the pig’s hip to its shoulder. They come in a variety of cuts, often based on the amount of fat or bone, but they are ultimately all cook down the same. Boneless pork chops are just the pork loin sliced. As far as cooking, we all know the roasting, grilling and barbecuing are prime ways. 

Porkchops should be cooked to at 145˚F.

• Pork Belly vs. Bacon

Not all pork belly is bacon, but all bacon is pork belly! Pork belly comes from a hog’s belly’ or underside after the loin and spareribs have been removed. Fresh pork belly is succulent and richly flavorful and is often served in small portions- or sheared off in thin slices to cure, smoke, and make bacon or pancetta.

There are multiple ways to cook pork belly if you aren’t going to use it to make homemade bacon, though long, slow cooks work best. Common methods include roasting, smoking, and searing and can be used as the main feature or enhancement to any menu. But my favorite is to braise it in a soy-based liquid after searing the fat.

• Pork Rib Roast

A cut of many names, this may also be found as ‘rack of pork’ or ‘bone-in center cut pork loin’. This large piece of meat is a statement piece that will need to be carved, either off the bone or into chops for serving. With it’s high fat content in the connective tissues and the bone, this cut is basically guaranteed to be mouthwateringly juicy and full of flavor. 

This cut holds up best to roasting or barbecuing as the thickness takes a fair amount of time to cook. This can be a harder cut of meat to find, but by requesting it from your butcher or meat manager at the store, it can easily be ordered. This cut is also best, and more showstopping, if the bones are frenched first (cleared of meat and cleaned at the ends).

• Pork Shoulder

For some reason that I do not know, this is also called a ‘picnic roast’ or ‘butt roast’ and most commonly a ‘Boston Butt’, but it is definitely from the shoulder! We are most familiar with the finished product of this cut in pulled pork, where the meat has been stewed or braised until tender and then shredded. Different spices may be used but the method is the same in dishes like pork carnitas. In order to reach a good consistency for shredding, a meat thermometer is important! Cook that shoulder to 170˚F and let it rest 10 minutes before shredding it.

• Pork Steaks

These come from the pork shoulder and contain bone from the blade. They are quick cooking and great on the grill for a fast but succulent meal. I like marinating them, using a rub, or just slathering them in barbecue sauce and grilling them for five minutes a side. Voila, cook-out accomplished.

• Ham

A ham is on of the most versatile cuts of meat on the pig. Ham is the meat on the hind leg of the pig and is typically cured and smoked. It can be bone-in or boneless, spiral cut or whole, and in all different sizes. Ham can be the centerpiece of large, beautiful meal, chunked in your omelets, and on your sandwiches, servicing all meals, any day. Extra curing of salt and dehydration is given to top quality legs and is sliced paper thin for prosciutto.

• Ribs

One of the favorite, and most iconic, cuts of the nation, ribs are an outdoor grilling and summer staple. True to our beliefs, most ribs are best served straight off the grill, but a trick for extra tender ribs, remove them from heat and wrap them in heavy foil and let them rest for at least an hour. There are many types of ribs:

-Back Ribs / Loin Back / Baby Back

Back ribs come from the blade and center section of the pork loin, which is known for the “finger meat” between the bones. Back ribs also are referred to as “baby” back ribs because they are smaller than spareribs.

-Spareribs

Spareribs come from the belly of the hog and are known for their full flavor. These are larger and meatier than the other types of ribs.

-St. Louis Style

St. Louis style ribs are a squared cut of spare ribs. These are straight and flat and work best for any recipes that require browning in a frying pan. (we do have a great rub for this)

-Rib Tips

Rib tips are the lower portion of spare ribs that remain after cutting St. Louis style ribs.

-Country-style Ribs

Country style ribs are cut from where the loin and shoulder meet. They’re a combination of higher fat and lean meat and are sold as slabs or individual servings – perfect for those who want to use a knife and fork instead of eating ribs off the bone. They also hold up well to braising and moist heat

• Fat Back

The strip of fat running down both sides of the spine of a pig above the ribs is referred to as fat back. It is largely considered inedible, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a place in your kitchen. Widely referred to as lard, fat back has a long history of being used for the grease it emits and is a great cooking solution for oil and butter. It is also a staple grease releaser in traditional southern cooking.

• The rest of the pig

Never discount that darn near everything on an animal is edible, and perhaps the pig most of all. Pork meat as well as fat and gristle can be made into ground pork and sausage. Head, jowl, tail, and trotters (feet) can be broken down, pickled, added into sausage, or used for a great, fatty ham stock. Even the skin can be deep fried into pork rinds.

Honestly, I don’t think I can pick the pig apart anymore than that in a single blog post, but I do hope that this gave you insight into where your cuts come from and how to use them. I wish you many successful recipes!