The Ultimate Guide to Pork!
The Ultimate Guide to Pork!
There is nothing I love more than a slow roasted, gelatinous pork belly that comes out of the oven with crunchy, golden crackle; you know the type that when you sink your teeth into it you’re sure the neighbours can hear your crunching.
Pork is an extremely nutritious lean meat, but not all farmed pork is equal and not all cuts make the super healthy list. Unfortunately that belly you we’re just salivating over makes the ‘enjoy occasionally’ list and not the ‘eat regularly’ list.
Every morsel of food we pop into our mouths not only awakens our taste buds but impacts our health. There are two main considerations to keep in mind when choosing pork.
- How the pig is raised
- Which cuts you consume on a regular basis.
Pork that’s given the freedom to roam in grassy pastures is more nutritious and flavoursome than pork raised in dirty, factory farming environments – breed for faster growth, quicker sales and bigger profits through growth enhancers and hormones. After all, these animals grow quickly enough on their own!
The flesh of a living pig can take on the scent and flavours of its environment through its skin. A pig living in filthy, unsanitary conditions, sleeping where it toilets so to speak, can develop a strong, murky odour - a pigs natural instinctive behaviour is to forage for food in natural environments of grass, bush and earth, and if left to roam in an open pasture, that’s exactly what a pig will do, feed on wild bush herbs and plants as opposed to smelly old rotten veg - with the addition of quality grains, it will develop a fresh, light, natural aroma with a sweeter taste profile and a higher nutritional value. The old story of pigs wallowing around in the mud is actually a myth - pigs are extremely intelligent animals and only use mud for sun protection.
Nutritional Information
Lean pork cuts are packed full of nutritional benefits – protein, iron, vitamin B6 & 12, thianin, riboflavin and omega-3 amongst other vitamins and minerals. The leanest cuts derive from the loin, fillet and leg. Pleasingly an international nutritional survey found pork has half the fat content of red meat and declared pork to be a low-fat, high-protein dietary source that’s nutritionally dense and beneficial for our growth, the nervous system and muscle strength.
Sage and Thyme Milk Infused Pork Belly Recipe
This cooking method produces a gelatinous, tender belly with a super crisp crackle and although it takes around three hours to cook, the effort you put in at the beginning is minimal – the results, however, are amazing!
You’ll need;
Pork belly – score the skin 2cm apart along the length then twice down the middle for a 23 cm long belly
sea salt and pepper
6 fresh sage leaves
6 springs of thyme
milk
olive oil
a baking dish slightly bigger than the pork belly (I use a foil dish, you don’t have to clean it and it cooks just the same!)
Preheat oven to 250C.
Season the underside of the belly with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the sage and thyme on the bottom of the dish then lay the pork belly, skin side up over the herbs. Dry the skin completely; it’s the secret to a super crunch factor, then rub sea salt into the skin.
Bake until the skin has crackled (around 30 to 40 minutes) then reduce heat to 150C, pour in enough milk to come three quarters of the way up the belly - don’t get the crackle wet! And bake for around 2 hours or until the milk has absorbed into the meat.
I love serving this with baby spinach, rocket and freshly shaved parmesan with a balsamic and olive oil dressing.
What Classifies Free-Range?
The free-range farmer must keep his land in a condition that promotes well-being and offers a natural environment for the pig. Animals must be able to roam and graze on the pasture throughout the day and be free to experience the natural elements of the outdoors while having access to clean water and quality feed. They must be protected from predators and free from growth enhancers, hormones and antibiotics and left to exhibit and fulfil their natural behavioural and physiological patterns. Cages, farrowing crates or sow stalls must not hinder their natural movements.
Certifications – look for animal welfare approved labels – Global Animal Partnership leer 4, 5, & 5+
NOTE: If your pork has a label reading ‘bred free-range’ it was probably born from a free-range sow but raised indoors and isn’t a true free-range animal.
Sage (along with apple) is pork’s best friend when it comes to cooking – wether roasting or pan frying throw in a few fresh sage leaves and you will have some very happy taste buds!
Porchetta Recipe
Porchetta originates from Italy; it’s a boneless rolled pork roast, traditionally spiked with flavours like garlic, fennel, sage and pancetta.
You will need;
A boneless pork roast - the loin is the easiest to handle and much leaner but the shoulder will be less likely to dry out. Get you butcher to butterfly it out to about 2 cm’s so you end up with a long thin piece of pork that still has the crackle on one end and ask them to score the skin at 1 to 1 ½ cm intervals.
½ an onion finely diced
½ a small fennel finely diced
About a 5cm piece of pancetta or speck finely cubed
4 cloves of garlic (if you love garlic add a couple more)
10 fresh sage leaves – chop 6 of them
Handful of fresh parsley
A sprig of rosemary leaves removed
A small handful of pine nuts roughly chopped
150g of pork mince
1 pear coarsely grated (or a green apple)
Freshly ground salt & pepper
Three 60 cm lengths of cooking twine (depending on the size of your pork roll)
One and a half onions, quartered and carrots for roasting
Combine rosemary, sage, parsley, garlic and a grinding of sea salt in a mortar and pestle and gently pound.
In a fry pan over medium heat gently sauté the onion until translucent
Add the fennel and pancetta and cook for a couple of minutes
Season with salt and pepper, add the herbs and garlic and sauté until fragrant then add the pork mince.
Combine well, but don’t let the pork mince cook through, the mince is to help the other ingredients bind slightly and will cook through in the roasting process.
Add the pine nuts and pear
Allow the mixture to cool then lay your pork out on a flat surface with the crackle facing down. The pork needs to be rolled so the crackle ends up as the top of the roll. Season the flesh with a light grinding of salt.
Press the cooked mixture into the flesh, compacting slightly, along the length of the meat then start firmly rolling the meat, starting at the opposite end from the skin. Once you have rolled the roast, use the cooking twine to tie the rolled roast in three places to secure for roasting, tie your knots underneath.
Thoroughly dry the skin with paper towel and salt well.
Place the carrots, quartered onions and remaining sage leaves on the bottom of a roasting dish and place the roll on top of the veg. Bake at 460F (240F)until the skin has crackled then turn the heat down to 350F (180C). The average cooking time for a rolled pork roast is 45 minutes per kilo of meat, but keep your eye on it, ovens vary greatly and it’s important not to over-cook it – it will end up dry. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes and slice using the scores in the crackle as a guide.
Once you’ve mastered this porchetta play around with the ingredients, don’t be a slave to the recipe – substitute, add or subtract ingredients and make it your own – just remember it’s all about flavour.
Pork Opinions - there are so many different recipes you use pork in.
Apart from pork being quick and easy to cook it’s extremely versatile. Try switching out beef or lamb mince for pork mince in any of the recipes you cook at home, it’s particularly good in spaghetti bolognese. I love to combine pork and beef or pork and lamb mince and it’s a common thing for European cooks to use two or three types of minced or ground meat and combine them. The pork mince lightens beef mince and adds a complexity of flavour to the finished dish. Just remember to source a good quality, low-fat content pork mince.
The pork mince recipe to top all pork mince recipes!
This is one of the most versatile recipes I have ever created and I’ve never met a person (unless they don’t eat pork) who doesn’t love it in almost all of its incarnations.
The Recipe!
500grams quality pork mince
Small shallot finely sliced
A bunch of dill chopped
A small carrot finely grated
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 egg lightly beaten
Half a tsp onion powder
1 tsp vegetable stock powder
Freshly ground salt and pepper
1 cup Chicken or vegetable stock or water
Apart from the liquid combine all ingredients in a bowl, when well combined slowly add the cup of liquid, combining as you go until all the liquid is absorbed into the meat.
Uses and variations;
- Roll into small balls and fry over medium heat in a small amount of olive oil until slightly crisp on the outside and just cooked through – serve as they are at kid’s parties or get-togethers. These meatballs are delicious cold too so throw them in your picnic basket for a super quick and easy nibble at the park – these meatballs freeze beautifully for a few weeks – make sure you freeze them in an air-tight container though.
- Italian Twist - rustle up a quick pasta sauce by gently frying of half a small onion, finely chopped, in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until translucent, then stir in a couple of crushed garlic cloves, a handful of roughly chopped fresh basil leaves and a tbls of tomato paste, combine and fry off for a couple of minutes then add a bottle of tomato puree or passata and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Throw in the meat balls and serve with spaghetti. Bon Appetit!
- Major cheesy meat balls – form into balls about the size of a standard lime – hold it in the palm of your hand with your fingers cupped up the side of the ball then push a one inch square cube of your favourite chees into the middle, close the hole firmly making sure the meat has totally enclosed the cheese. Gently fry over medium/low heat in olive oil or spray them with olive oil and pop them in a 350F (180C) oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Wonderful served with mashed potatoes and a balsamic salad.
- Burger Heaven – For a light and healthy burger patty form the meat into patties the size of your burger buns and BBQ until cooked through – top with your favourite burger fillings.
- Mini Dogs – form the meat mix into small sausage shapes and BBQ until cooked through – serve on small hot dog buns with sauce, mild mustard and fried bacon and onions for a gourmet mini hot dog that will impress kids and adults alike.
- Quick Tasty Sausage Rolls – thaw 4 sheets of puff pastry (or if your game, try making it yourself) and cut them in half lengthways. Take portions of the pork mince and lay it along the length of the pastry, the meat should measure about two inches, but you can make them as thick and meaty as you like.
Brush one side of the pastry with beaten egg and fold the other side of the pastry sheet over to form the sausage roll. Press to seal the edges. Cut the sausage rolls into a size that pleases you (I like to keep them about two and a half inches long so I end up with maximum puff around the edges) and place them on a baking tray lined with grease-proof paper. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes at 350F or until golden and puffed. These can be frozen once rolled for about four weeks in an air-tight container.
Slow Roasted Pork Belly that's been bathed in aromatic sage and in bathed in milk is a real treat!
If you're uncertain about your knife skills any good butcher will butterfly the pork roast for you. Then all you need to do is prepare the filling, roll it, warp it, and roast it!
The rules to a super crunchy crackly are pretty simple really.
F=Make sure the skin is really dry - blot it with paper towel to take away any moisture.
Don't oil the skin!
And salt it just before you pop it in the oven. If you allow it to sit once you've salted it the salt will draw out any moisture in the skin and it won't crackle as well once you pop it in the oven.
Turn that oven up as high as you dare! Then drop the heat once the cracked has shown it's salty goodness to you.
First published in My Hydrolife Magazine
