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Pork (ingredient)

Meat · Pork

Pork

Meat from pigs: fatty, sweet cuts like belly and shoulder for slow cooking, lean loin and tenderloin for quick cooking.

Around the world: cerdo (es) · zhurou, 猪肉 (zh) · baboy (tl)

226 recipes with it

Photo: Rainer Zenz, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

What it is

Pork is the meat of domestic pigs and is eaten fresh or cured into bacon, ham and sausages. Shoulder and belly are fatty and become tender with slow cooking or crisp with roasting; loin and tenderloin are lean and dry out if overcooked. It is not eaten in Jewish and Muslim dietary traditions.

Sus scrofa domesticus

How it’s used

  • Roasts, including crackling
  • Braises, stews and curries (e.g. vindaloo, adobo)
  • Stir-fries and dumplings
  • Barbecue, ribs and pulled pork
  • Cured and smoked products

Characteristics

Taste
Mild, sweet and savoury.
When cooked
Modern pork can be served slightly pink at 63 °C; fatty cuts benefit from being cooked much further for tenderness.
Sold as
fresh, frozen, cured, smoked
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked, Suitable for frying, Suitable for grilling, Suitable for boiling

Kinds in our pantry

Storage

Refrigerated. Keep raw pork sealed on the bottom shelf of the fridge; freeze for longer storage.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • Food-safety guidance for whole cuts of beef, lamb, veal and pork is 63 °C (145 °F) in the centre followed by a 3-minute rest; slow-cooked cuts are taken far higher for tenderness.
  • Store raw meat sealed on the bottom shelf of the fridge and keep separate boards for raw meat and ready-to-eat food.
  • Mincing spreads surface bacteria (including E. coli) through the meat: cook minced beef, pork, lamb and burgers to 71 °C (160 °F) in the centre, not rare.

Related ingredients

Recipes with pork

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