Cooking Pork Roast, How to Identify and SelectBefore you choose and begin cooking a pork roast it helps to understand which part of the animal it came from. The pig is divided into four primal cuts (see illustration).
The tenderness or toughness of a pork roast really depends Pork is about 30 percent leaner than it was 25 years ago. This is good news for the low fat diets, but this means less flavor, moisture and tenderness, so choosing the proper cooking method for each cut will make a huge difference when preparing today's pork. We have rated each roast for flavor based on experience, research and feedback from others. The rating system is out of 5, the best being 5/5 and the lowest 1/5. All pork can be tender if you know how to cook a roast, meat from different parts of the pig must be cooked in different ways to maximize flavor and tenderness. Enhanced or seasoned pork is becoming more and more popular in grocery stores in the United States and Canada. If the pork you have purchased is enhanced do not use a brine solution or add any salt to the recipe. Read this article to learn more about enhanced or seasoned pork. All-Clad LTD Cookware Sale - Save up to 40% on cookware that is great for every pork roast recipe. All-Clad helps to make easy pork recipes and cooking pork a true pleasure.
SHOULDER The shoulder lies between the rib section of the loin and the forshank. The shoulder is divided into 2 sections, the more popular upper shoulder which is called the blade or butt and the lower shoulder which is called the picnic or arm shoulder. The shoulder is a heavily exercised muscle with a great deal of fat, making the meat intensely flavorful. Cuts from this area benefit from long, slow cooking to become tender.
LOIN The loin is the pig's entire back, attached to it are back ribs and the tenderloin. The loin lies between the shoulder and leg and contain the most popular cuts on the pig. The loin is lean and tender but is easily dried out if overcooked.
LEG The leg or fresh ham is the hind leg, lean with robust flavor and texture. The leg can be left whole bone in or cut into smaller pork roast. Some grocery stores bone out the leg and cut into 3 muscles: inside, outside, and tip. The leg is also a popular cut for wet and dry cured smoked hams.
BELLY The pork belly is the underside of the pig and home to side ribs and side bacon as well as a variety of other processed pork products. The belly is fatty and very flavorful.
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