PORK
Pork is eaten in several forms, mostly cooked. Pork can also be processed into different forms, which may also extend the shelf life of the product, with the resultant products being cured (some hams, including the Italian prosciutto) or smoked or a combination of these methods (other hams, gammon, bacon or pancetta). It is also a common ingredient in sausages. Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, many from pork. However, by some definitions, "pork" denotes only fresh pig meat.
| Main Cuts | PORK PRIMAL CUTS |
| Neck End / Shoulder | This is a very large joint that can be divided again into the Blade and Spare Ribs Chops. It can be boned out and rolled up as a roasting joint or cured as "collar bacon". |
| Hand / Arm Shoulder | This can be cured on the bone to make a ham-like product, or used in sausages. |
| Loin | This can be cured to give back bacon or Canadian-style bacon. The loin can also be divided up into roasts (blade loin roasts, centre loin roasts, and sirloin roasts come from the front, centre, or rear of the loin), back ribs (also called baby back ribs), pork cutlets and pork chops. |
| Tenderloin | TENDERLOIN, or fillet, comes from the loin of larger pigs, which are destined for bacon. A pork escalope is usually a small piece of fillet or can be the eye of the loin that has been bashed flat between sheets of cling film. |
| Belly | The belly, although a fattier meat, can be used for steaks or diced stir-fry meat. Belly pork may be rolled for roasting or cut for streaky bacon. The belly can be sold as one large joint, with or without the bones or sliced into pork belly slices. |
| Spare Ribs | The belly is also the joint from which SPARE RIBS are cut (not to be confused with the big spare rib joint). For the meatiest, juiciest ribs, ask one of our butchers to ‘sheet out’ a belly of pork for you and to leave a thick layer of meat on the bones before cutting it up. |
| Chump | The chump end of the loin can be boned out and rolled into one joint or cut into boneless chump steaks. |
| Leg | The BACK LEG consists of leaner meat with less fat under the skin. It can be bought as one large leg joint on the bone, cut into leg steaks or more usually, boned and rolled into smaller joints. Three common cuts of the leg include the rump (upper portion), centre, and shank (lower portion). |
| Source: | wikipedia.org |
