File:British Pork Cuts.svg, 400px,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

cuts of pork poly 187 219 187 194 173 196 Trotters poly 372 226 373 207 361 204 359 216 Trotters poly 171 141 166 104 287 117 294 152 Belly poly 167 102 178 27 315 23 274 102

Loin The loins, or lumbus, are the sides between the lower ribs and pelvis, and the lower part of the back. The term is used to describe the anatomy of humans and quadrupeds, such as horses, pigs, or cattle. The anatomical reference also applies to p ...

poly 361 201 371 181 394 177 373 201

Hock Hock may refer to: * Hock (wine), a type of wine * Hock (anatomy), part of an animal's leg * To leave an item with a pawnbroker * Hock (surname) * Richard "Hock" Walsh (1948-1999), Canadian blues singer * A type of wine bottle A wine bottl ...

poly 174 191 163 182 174 173 178 184

poly 387 172 372 156 371 149 387 137 407 85 368 61 370 43 328 27 315 38 302 137 343 172 Leg / Ham desc none American Pork Cuts

The cuts of pork are the different parts of the

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

which are consumed as food by humans. The terminology and extent of each cut varies from country to country. There are between four and six

primal cut A primal cut or cut of meat is a piece of meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domesti ...

s, which are the large parts in which the pig is first cut: the shoulder (blade and picnic), loin, belly (spare ribs and side) and leg.Cattleman's Beef Board & National Cattlemen's Beef Association
Uniform Retail Meat Identity Standards
. Retrieved 11 July 2007. These are often sold wholesale, as are other parts of the pig with less meat, such as the head, feet and tail. Retail cuts are the specific cuts which are used to obtain different kinds of meat, such as tenderloin and

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

. There are at least 25 Iberian pork cuts, including

jamón ''Jamón'' (; : ''jamones'') is a type of dry-cured ham produced in Spain. It is one of the most globally recognized food items of Spanish cuisine. It is also regularly a component of tapas. ''Jamón'' is the Spanish word for ' ham'. As such ...

Cuts

Head

The head of the pig can be used to make brawn, stocks, and soups. After boiling, the ears can be fried or baked and eaten separately. The cheeks can be cured and smoked to make jowls, known as ''carrillada'' or ''carrileja'' in Spanish-speaking countries. The face of Iberian pigs is known as ''pestorejo'' or ''careta'', and it includes the ears and snout (''morro''). The lower parts of the head are the neck (''papada'') and the

amygdalae The amygdala (; : amygdalae or amygdalas; also '; Latin from Greek, , ', 'almond', 'tonsil') is a paired nuclear complex present in the cerebral hemispheres of vertebrates. It is considered part of the limbic system. In primates, it is loca ...

(''castañetas''). In the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, the pig's face (the jowls, snout, and ears) is also a distinct cut called ''maskara'' ('mask'). The tongue, which weighs around 250 grams, is also eaten.

Blade shoulder

Above the front limbs and behind the head is the shoulder blade. It can be boned out and rolled up as a roasting joint, or cured as "collar bacon". Also known as spare rib roast and joint, it is not to be confused with the rack of spare ribs from the front belly. Pork butt, despite its name, is from the upper part of the shoulder. The

Boston butt A Boston butt is the slightly wedge-shaped portion of the pork shoulder above the standard picnic cut which includes the blade bone and the "lean butt" (which is boneless), both extensions of the tenderloin cut and can be used in place of the ten ...

, or Boston-style shoulder cut, comes from this area and may contain the shoulder blade. Mexican ''

carnitas Carnitas, literally meaning "little meats", in Mexican cuisine, is a dish made by braising, simmering and frying pork in its own fat, lard or cooking oil. The name "''Carnitas''" is, historically, the colloquial name given in Mexico for the Fren ...

'' and Iberian ''aguja'' are also sourced from this part. Between the ''aguja'' and the ''lomo'' (loin) is the ''presa'', which is considered the finest cut of Iberian pork. Two well-marbled 600 g cuts of ''presa'' are obtained from each Iberian pig. Two smaller 100 g cuts known as ''pluma'' are obtained from beneath the ''presa''. The Italian ''

coppa Coppa or COPPA may refer to: * '' Coppa'' or ''capocollo'', a type of Italian pork cold cut * Montonico bianco, a white Italian wine grape variety grown in the Calabria region of southern Italy * Coppa (surname) * Coppa Italia, a domestic Italian l ...

'' is obtained from the top of the shoulder.

Shoulder arm picnic

The arm shoulder can be cured on the bone to make a ham-like product ("picnic ham") or be used in sausages. The hands (or ''paletas'' in Ibérico pigs) refer to the front legs, as opposed to the hind legs, which are hams or ''jamones''. Between the ''paleta'' and the belly is a 150-200 g cut known as ''secreto'' which is very popular in Spain.

Loin

The

loin The loins, or lumbus, are the sides between the lower ribs and pelvis, and the lower part of the back. The term is used to describe the anatomy of humans and quadrupeds, such as horses, pigs, or cattle. The anatomical reference also applies to p ...

can be cured to make back bacon or Canadian-style bacon. The loin and belly can be cured together to make a side of 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, or riblets), pork cutlets, and pork chops (''chuletas''). A pork loin crown roast is arranged into a circle, either boneless or with rib bones protruding upward as points in a crown. Pork tenderloin, removed from the loin, should be practically free of fat. It is known as ''lomo'' in Spain, where it is most often prepared as a '' filete'' or cured as a ''caña de lomo''. This high-quality meat shows a very ordered arrangement of muscle cells that can cause light diffraction and

structural coloration Structural coloration in animals, and a few plants, is the production of colour by microscopically structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with visible light instead of Biological pigment, pigments, although some structural coloration occu ...

Fatback

The

subcutaneous fat The subcutaneous tissue (), also called the hypodermis, hypoderm (), subcutis, or superficial fascia, is the lowermost layer of the integumentary system in vertebrates. The types of cells found in the layer are fibroblasts, adipose cells, and ...

and skin on the back (

fatback Fatback is a layer of subcutaneous fat taken from under the skin of the back of a domestic pig, with or without the skin (referred to as pork rind). In cuisine Fatback is a preferred fat for various forms of charcuterie, particularly sau ...

) are used to make

pork rind Pork rind is the culinary term for the skin of a pig. It can be used in many different ways. It can be rendered, fried in fat, baked, or roasted to produce a kind of pork cracklings (US), crackling (UK), or scratchings (UK); these are ...

s, a variety of cured "meats",

lardon A lardon, also spelled lardoon, is a small strip or cube of fatty bacon, or pork fat (usually subcutaneous fat), used in a wide variety of cuisines to flavor savory food and salads. In French cuisine, lardons are also used for larding, by thre ...

s, and

lard Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.

. British pork scratchings and Hispanic '' chicharrones'' are also prepared from this cut.

Spare ribs

Spare ribs Spare ribs (also side ribs or spareribs) are a variety of ribs cut from the lower portion of a pig, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones. Meat and fat cover the bones. Spare ribs (pork) ar ...

are taken from the pig's

rib In vertebrate anatomy, ribs () are the long curved bones which form the rib cage, part of the axial skeleton. In most tetrapods, ribs surround the thoracic cavity, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the ...

s and the meat surrounding the bones. St. Louis–style spareribs have the sternum, cartilage and skirt meat removed. The term ''abanico'' is used to refer to the ribs of Iberian pigs. It is very fatty and commonly barbecued.

Belly or side

The belly, although a fattier meat, can be used for steaks or diced as stir-fry meat. Pork belly may be rolled for roasting or cut for streaky bacon. It is the source of Italian ''

pancetta Pancetta () is a Salting (food)#Meat, salt-cured pork belly meat product in a category known as ''Salumi, salume''. In Italy, it is often used to add depth to soups and pasta. (in Italian). Uses For cooking, pancetta is often cut into cubes ( ...

'' and Spanish ''panceta''.

Legs or hams

Although any cut of pork can be cured, technically speaking only the back leg is entitled to be called a ham. Legs and shoulders, when used fresh, are usually cut bone-in for

roasting Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelizat ...

, or leg steaks can be cut from the bone. Three common cuts of the leg include the rump (upper portion), centre, and shank (lower portion). The ham of Iberian pigs is known as ''

''.

Ham hock

The joint between the feet and the leg, known as ham hock or pork knuckles, is cooked in many European countries, including Austria (''stelze''), Czech Republic (''koleno''), Germany ('' eisbein'' and '' schweinshaxe''), Hungary (''csülök''), Poland (''golonka''), Spain (''codillo''), Sweden ('' Fläsklägg'') and Switzerland (wädli).

Trotters

Both the front and hind trotters can be cooked and eaten. They are colloquially known as "pigs feet" in the Southern United States and as ''manitas de cerdo'' in Spanish-speaking regions.

Chitterlings

The intestines (

chitterlings Chitterlings ( ), sometimes spelled chitlins or chittlins, are a food most commonly made from the small intestines of pigs, though cow, lamb, goose and goat may also be used. They may be filled with a forcemeat to make sausage.''Oxford English ...

) and other internal organs (

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the internal organ (anatomy), organs of a butchered animal. Offal may also refer to the by-products of Milling (grinding), milled grains, such as corn or wheat. Some cultures strong ...

) are often boiled or

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been Cooking, cooked in Soup, liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher meats suitable for ...

ed. The

testicles A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of androgens, primarily testosterone. The ...

(''criadillas'') are also eaten.

Tail

The tail has very little meat as it is mostly composed of connective tissue. It can be roasted or fried, which makes the skin crisp and the bone soft. It has a strong flavour. Leonese ''

botillo Botillo (), Butiellu () or Botelo (, ; also known as in Portuguese language, Portuguese) is a dish of meat-stuffed pork intestine. It is a culinary specialty of El Bierzo, a northern Comarca, county in the Spain, Spanish province of León (provi ...

'' is made of chopped tail, ribs and bones, which are seasoned, stuffed in the

cecum The cecum ( caecum, ; plural ceca or caeca, ) is a pouch within the peritoneum that is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is typically located on the right side of the body (the same side of the body as the appendix (a ...

and smoked.

References

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