Cooking of Pork
By Pig on a Spit - Apr 30, 2008 |  
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Pork is the flesh of slaughtered swine used as food. It is believed to be more indigestible than other meats, but if it is obtained from a young and properly fed animal, it is not only digestible, but highly appetizing, and, when eaten occasionally, it is very wholesome.
The age of the animal from which pork is cut can be determined by the thickness of the skin; the older the animal, the thicker the skin. To be of the best kind, pork should have pink, not red, flesh composed of fine-grained tissues, and its fat, which, in a well-fattened animal, equals about one-eighth of the entire weight, should be white and firm.
Although all cuts of pork contain some fat, the proportion should not be too great, or the pieces will not contain as much lean as they should. However, the large amount of fat contained in pork makes its food value higher than that of other meats, unless they are excessively fat, and
consequently difficult of digestion.
One of the chief advantages of pork is that about nine-tenths of the entire dressed animal may be preserved by curing and smoking. Originally, these processes required a period of 2 to 3 months for their completion, but they have gradually been shortened until now only a few days are required for the work.
Pork cured and smoked by the new methods, however, does not possess such excellent flavor and such good keeping qualities as that so treated by the longer process. Any one who has the right storage facilities to care for the meat properly will find it much more economical to purchase a whole carcass or a part of one and then salt, smoke, or pickle the various pieces that can be treated in this way than to purchase this meat cut by cut as it is needed or desired.
Preparation for Cooking Fresh Pork
Roast Pork
In the preparation of pork for the table, and a roast in particular, several points must be taken into consideration. Unlike beef, which is often served rare, pork must be well done in order to be satisfactory. Rare pork to most persons is repulsive. Also, as a large part of the surface of a pork roast, especially one cut from the shoulder, loin, or ribs, is covered with a layer of fat, pork does not have to be seared to prevent the loss of juice, nor does it have to be put into such a hot oven as that required for beef. In fact, if the temperature of the oven is very high, the outside will finish cooking before the heat has had a chance to penetrate sufficiently to cook the center. While this makes no difference with meat that does not need to be thoroughly cooked, it is a decided disadvantage in the case of pork.
When a shoulder of pork is to be roasted, it makes a very satisfactory dish if it is boned and stuffed before roasting. To bone such a piece, run a long, narrow knife all around the bone and cut it loose; then pick up the bone by one end and shake it until it will pull out. Fill the opening thus formed with bread or cracker stuffing. If an especially inviting roast of pork is desired, a crown roast should be selected, for this is just as attractive as a crown roast of lamb. It is made by cutting corresponding pieces from each side of the rib piece, trimming the bones clean as far back as the lean part of the chops, and fastening the pieces together. A garnish of fried apple rings is very attractive for such a roast.
To cook a roast of any of these varieties, wipe the meat thoroughly, dredge it with flour, salt, and pepper, and place it on a rack in a dripping pan. Bake about 3 hours, depending on the size of the roast, and baste every 15 minutes with fat from the bottom of the dripping pan. After the roast is removed from the roasting pan, make a gravy as for any other roast. Serve with apple sauce, baked apples, cranberry sauce, chilli sauce, pickles, or some other acid dish. Such an accompaniment aids considerably in the digestion of pork, for it cuts the large amount of fat that this meat contains and that so often retards the digestion, and hastens the fat through the stomach.
Sauted or Broiled Pork
Slices cut from the ribs and loin of pork are called chops, and those obtained from the shoulder and hind legs are called steaks. These, together with the tenderloin, the small piece of lean, tender meat lying under the bones of the loin and seldom weighing more than a pound, are especially suitable for sauteing or broiling. When they are to be prepared by these processes, saute or broil them as any other meat, remembering, however, that pork must be well done. Because of this fact, a more moderate temperature must be employed than that used for beef steak.
Pork Chops in Tomato Sauce
A slight change from the usual way of preparing pork chops can be had by cooking them with tomatoes. The combination of these two foods produces a dish having a very agreeable flavor.
First brown the chops in their own fat in a frying pan, turning them frequently so that the surfaces will become evenly browned. When they have cooked for 15 minutes, pour enough strained stewed tomatoes over them to cover them well, and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan tight, and allow them to simmer until the tomatoes become quite thick. Place the chops on a hot platter, pour the tomato sauce over them, and serve hot.
Sauted Pork Tenderloin
Since the tenderloin of pork is a very tender piece of meat, it needs no accompaniment to make it a delicious dish, but sometimes a change of preparation is welcomed in order to give variety to the diet. The accompanying directions should therefore be followed when something different from broiled tenderloin is desired.
Cut the tenderloin into lengthwise slices and brown these slices in melted butter, turning them several times. Then remove to a cooler part of the stove, and let them cook slowly in the butter for 15 minutes, taking care to have them closely covered and turning them once or twice so that they will cook evenly. At the end of this time, pour enough milk or cream in the pan to cover the meat well and cook for 15 minutes longer. With a skimmer, remove the meat, which should be very tender by this time, from the pan, and put it where it will keep hot. Make a gravy of the drippings that remain in the pan by thickening it with 1 tablespoonful of flour, stirring it until it is thick and smooth and seasoning it to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the gravy over the meatand serve hot.
Pork Sausage
The trimmings and some of the internal organs of pork are generally utilized to make sausage by chopping them very fine and then highly seasoning the chopped meat. Pork in this form may be bought fresh or smoked and loose or in casings. It usually contains considerable fat and therefore shrinks upon being cooked, for the fat is melted by the heat and runs out of the sausage.
To cook pork sausages put up in casings, place the required number in a hot frying pan with a small quantity of hot water. Cover the pan with a lid and allow the sausages to cook. When they have swelled up and the skins, or casings, look as if they would burst, remove the cover and
thoroughly prick each one with a sharp fork, so as to allow the fat and the water to run out. Then allow the water to evaporate and saute the sausages in their own fat, turning them frequently until they are well browned.
To cook loose pork sausage, shape it into thin, flat cakes. Grease a frying pan slightly, in order to keep the cakes from sticking to the surface, place the cakes in the pan, and allow them to cook in the fat that fries out, turning them occasionally until both sides are well browned.
Bacon
Pork, upon being cured by smoking, is regarded as bacon. It is sometimes used for larding purposes, it contains more lean than salt pork, has a very pleasing flavor, and is the most easily digested fat known. it is much used for food. The strip of fat that occurs between the rind, or outer coat, and the first layer of lean is the firmest and the best for larding. The fat that fries out of bacon is excellent for use in the cooking and seasoning of other foods, such as vegetables and meats.
When bacon is cooked for the table, its flavor will be improved if it is broiled rather than fried in its own fat. The rind of bacon should, as a rule, be trimmed off, but it should never be wasted, for it may be used to grease a pancake griddle or any pan in which food is to be cooked, provided the bacon flavor will not be objectionable.
In purchasing bacon, it is usually more economical to buy the whole side, or the entire middle cut, but if smaller quantities are desired, any amount, either in one piece or in slices, may be bought. The commercially cut bacon, which is very thin and becomes very crisp in its
preparation, may be bought with the rind retained or removed. In both of these forms, it is often put up in jars or packed neatly in flat pasteboard boxes. While such bacon is undoubtedly the most popular kind, it should be remembered that the more preparation that is put on such a food before it enters the home, the more expensive it becomes.
Very satisfactory results can be obtained from bacon bought in the piece if care is used in cutting it. To secure very thin, even slices, a knife having a thin blade that is kept sharp and in good condition should always be used.
Bacon and Eggs
There are many combinations in which bacon is one of the foods, but no more palatable one can be found than bacon and eggs. This is generally a breakfast dish; still there is no reason why it cannot be used at times for luncheon or supper to give variety.
To prepare this combination of foods, first pan-broil the desired number of slices of bacon in a hot frying pan until they are crisp and then remove them to a warm platter. Into the fat that has fried out of the bacon, put the required number of eggs, which have first been broken into a saucer. Fry them until they reach the desired degree of hardness, and then remove to the platter containing the bacon. Serve by placing a slice or two of bacon on the plate with each egg.
Bacon with other Foods
Many other foods may be fried in the same way as eggs and served with bacon. For instance, sliced apples or sliced tomatoes fried in bacon fat until they become tender, but not mushy, are delicious when served with crisp pieces of bacon. Also, cold cereals, such as cream of wheat, oatmeal, corn-meal mush, etc., may be sliced and fried until crisp and then served with bacon.
For more tasty pork recipes check our recipe section on the left.
This page is from our Pig Facts and Articles category.
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