Pork

Discover some lesser-known pork cuts and start to buy your meat in greater variety. Then you'll enjoy more versatile cooking - why not follow our recipes for some tender and succulent dishes?

Chump
Similar to loin, chump comes in the form of chops and steaks, plus you can also buy a mini joint of this meat. It's medium priced compared with the rest of the animal.

Leg
Leg is seen as the premium-quality pork joint. As a roasting joint, it provides lean meat, though it's the most costly cut. Steaks and diced meat from the leg are also very lean and good for grilling or stir-frying. The leg also gives ham and gammon, plus high-quality bacon.

Belly
Belly of pork is a lower-cost cut of meat, due to the relatively high traces of fat in it. However, this means that the cuts are ideal for longer cooking periods and recipes where the meat might dry out. Belly provides steaks (with or without bones), cubes and strips as well as being a cheaper roasting joint. The smaller cuts are ideal for barbecues and casseroles. Similarly, you can buy a mini joint of boned and rolled belly pork which can also be cooked over the barbecue in foil then browned with no foil a few minutes prior to serving. Mini or normal-sized belly joints can be trimmed by the butcher, but many people like to have the skin replaced or left on to provide crackling.

Ribs
Ribs are a relatively cheap cut of pork as they contain a smaller ratio of meat to bone. The discarded bones from chops are sold as spare ribs - pieces that have some meat, but not enough to be classed as proper chops. These can be marinated and grilled or barbecued. Ribs are also cut and sold in the same way as chops, with quite a large amount of meat still on the bone. The rib joint of pork contains more meat and can be treated like the rack of lamb as a piece that's ideal for open roasting or glazing and can be carved easily between the ribs so long as the chine bone is removed.

Loin
The loin joint that runs across most of the back of the pig provides a number of smaller cuts which many people are familiar with. Chops contain some bone which makes them slightly cheaper than boneless steaks. Loin provides bacon with varying degrees of fat running through it, from lean to streaky. These cuts are all mid-priced for pork. For roasting, the loin joint costs a little more, but is very useful either on the bone or boned and rolled to give a piece of meat that's easily stuffed and carved.

Shoulder
The shoulder joint of pork can be bought as smaller cuts or as a whole roasting joint. It's relatively inexpensive, so is ideal for a roast if you're working on a tighter budget, as well as having a rich flavour. Shoulder meat is also used for diced cubes to make casseroles and kebabs as well as being minced and made into sausages.

Collar or neck end
The collar of pork is used for a number of different cuts such as spare ribs, chops, boneless steaks, diced pork and mince. The common feature of all the meat is that it's slightly fatty and therefore doesn't dry out when cooked for a long time. The cost of collar cuts is relatively low compared to other pork cuts.

Head
In Britain, the head joint is very rarely used except for medieval banquets, but it's still important in other countries. The head is useful for making stocks and soups as it contains a large amount of bone. One use of the head that does survive is in making brawn. The head is boiled with herbs and seasoning, then the meat is cleaned off and refrigerated with the stock to make a loaf, similar to a terrine or pâté. If you were to buy the joint, it would be very cheap.

Recipes

Baby Loin Back Ribs

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 (2 pound) slabs baby loin back ribs
* 3 tablespoons Dry Spices (see below)
* 1 cup Basting Sauce (see below)
* 1 cup Sweet Sauce (see below)
*
* Dry Spices:
* 3 tablespoons paprika
* 2 teaspoons seasoned salt
* 2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon dry mustard
* 1 teaspoon ground oregano
* 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
*
* Basting Sauce:
* 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons Dry Spices
* 2 cups red wine vinegar
* 2 cups water
* 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
* 1 small bay leaf
*
* Sweet Sauce:
* 1 cup ketchup
* 1 cup red wine vinegar
* 1 (8 ounce) can canned tomato sauce
* 1/2 cup honey mustard
* 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 cup butter or margarine
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons hot sauce
* 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
* 1 tablespoon paprika
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
* 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. COMBINE all Dry Spices ingredients in a small bowl.
2. STIR together all Basting Sauce ingredients; cover and let stand 8 hours. Remove bay leaf. (Sauce is intended for basting ribs only.)
3. BRING all Sweet Sauce ingredients to a boil in a Dutch oven. Reduce heat, and simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes.
4. PLACE ribs in a large, shallow pan. Rub Dry Spices evenly over ribs. Cover and chill 3 hours.
5. PREPARE a hot fire by piling charcoal or lava rocks on one side of grill, leaving other side empty. (For gas grill, light only one side.) Place food rack on grill. Arrange ribs over unlit side.
6. GRILL ribs, covered with grill lid, over medium heat (300 degrees to 350 degrees) for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, basting every 30 minutes with Basting Sauce and turning occasionally. Brush ribs with Sweet Sauce the last 30 minutes.

Sylvia's Ribs

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 pounds pork spareribs
* 3 cups ketchup
* 1 cup barbeque sauce
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* 1 dash hot pepper sauce, or to taste
* 3 tablespoons steak sauce, (e.g. Heinz 57)
* 2 cloves garlic, minced

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the ribs in a large stock pot with enough water to cover. Bring the water to a boil and cook over medium-high heat for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. In medium saucepan, combine ketchup, barbeque sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, steak sauce and garlic; blend well. Cook the sauce over medium heat for approximately 20 minutes. (Please note that the above ingredients are all to taste. Use more or less of anything you like. I never make the ribs the same way twice!)
4. Cut the ribs between the bones and place in a baking pan. Pour sauce over ribs, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes.

BBQ Pork for Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
* 3 pounds boneless pork ribs
* 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour can of beef broth into slow cooker, and add boneless pork ribs. Cook on High heat for 4 hours, or until meat shreds easily. Remove meat, and shred with two forks. It will seem that it's not working right away, but it will.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Transfer the shredded pork to a Dutch oven or iron skillet, and stir in barbeque sauce.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Barbecue Ribs

INGREDIENTS:

* 4 pounds pork spareribs
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1/4 cup ketchup
* 1/4 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 cup rum
* 1/2 cup chile sauce
* 2 cloves garlic, crushed
* 1 teaspoon dry mustard
* 1 dash ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cut spareribs into serving size portions, wrap in double thickness of foil, and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Unwrap, and drain drippings. (I usually freeze the drippings to use later in soups.) Place ribs in a large roasting pan.
2. In a bowl, mix together brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rum, chile sauce, garlic, mustard, and pepper. Coat ribs with sauce and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour, or refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat grill for medium heat. Position grate four inches above heat source.
4. Brush grill grate with oil. Place ribs on grill, and cook for 30 minutes, basting with marinade.