Pork

Buyer's guide

Mike Robinson shows you how to shop to make sure your pork is in its prime.

Where to buy

The choice of meat at supermarkets has improved in recent years, but usually you'll have to settle for what's on the shelf or at the meat counter (if there is one). A good butcher is likely to stock a greater variety of cuts or be able to order what you want.

Butchers should also be able to give advice on preparing and cooking, and tell you where, and from which breeds, their meat comes from - as should producers at farmers' markets. Also worth considering are specialist meat mail-order companies, which can provide great choice and quality.

Tips on buying

Pigs are brought to market young (at about five to six months old), so look for cuts that are moist and a healthy pink colour, not grey or red. Choose neat cuts with a fine-grained texture. Although pork is a lean meat there may be a slight marbling of fat (especially in traditional breeds) that should be firm and white. Avoid anything looking damp or clammy, or with oily or chalky-looking fat.

Two-thirds of pork imported into the UK is produced under conditions which would be illegal in this country. For higher welfare standards, look for Quality Standard Mark pork with its distinctive Union flag logo.

If your budget permits, there's also free-range, organic pork and rare-breed pork. If you're concerned about the provenance of your pork, check the labels carefully for country of origin labelling, and remember that 'packed in the UK' does not always mean 'produced in the UK'.

For more information on Quality Standard Marks for pork go to the Meat Matters website.

Rare breeds

Many of our more traditional breeds of pig such as Saddlebacks, Gloucestershire Old Spots and Tamworths are enjoying a revival. The pork and bacon that come from these and other rare-breed pigs is considered superior by many chefs and gourmets who argue the meat is especially flavourful. They also value the extra fat these pigs carry because it helps keep the meat especially moist and succulent during cooking. Each breed has slightly different eating characteristics so it's worth trying different breeds.

Rare-breed pigs take longer to mature than the breeds selected for modern farming methods and are generally very well cared for in a natural environment. This means the end product is more expensive. But many chefs and consumers are happy to pay extra for a meat they consider superior, as well as playing their part in the conservation of Britain's heritage breeds.

Look out for the following rare breeds: Berkshire, British Lop, British Saddleback, Gloucestershire Old Spot, Large Black, Middle White, Tamworth, Welsh.

For more information on the rare breeds and butchers who stock their meat go to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust website.

Storing and freezing

Store meat in the coldest part of the fridge. Cover and store raw and cooked foods separately and store raw foods below cooked foods in the fridge. If it's already packaged in a cling-filmed tray, leave it like that until you're ready to use it. If not, put the meat on a plate, loosely wrap in greaseproof paper or foil and store in the fridge away from cooked meats. Pork will keep for three to five days in the fridge. Mince, offal and smaller cuts are best eaten on the day you buy them or within one to two days. Joints, chops and steaks will keep for two to three days and large roasting joints up to five days.

Quickly freezing pork reduces the chance of damage to its texture or succulence. Smaller pieces and large joints freeze successfully. Use frozen pork within six months. Defrost, loosely wrapped, in the fridge allowing five hours per 450g/1lb.

Bacon, ham and gammon

Pork was originally cured to preserve it; now cured pork products are popular simply because of their delicious flavour.

Bacon is made by curing, and sometimes smoking, meat from the side of a pig. It can either be dry-cured by rubbing in salt and flavourings (sugar, spices, honey), or wet-cured by soaking the meat in, or injecting it, with brine.

Ham is from the hind legs of the pig - there are rapid-cured and slow-cured hams. Various factors influence the flavour and texture of ham including the cut and curing process chosen, whether the meat has been dry-salted or cured in brine (and for how long), whether it has been air-dried or smoked, and the smoking medium (hickory, juniper or oak, for instance). The breed of pig can also affect the flavour.

Gammon is also from the hind legs, and is sold raw for cooking. Bacon must also always be cooked but dry-cured hams can be eaten raw and 'cooked hams' are cooked and ready to eat. Quality varieties of hams also include pancetta, speck, jambon de Bayonne, parma ham, San Daniele, Black Forest ham, Virginia ham, Wiltshire ham and York ham.

Sausages and salami

Sausages are generally made from either pork or beef, with all manner of seasonings and flavourings. They can be sold raw, such as traditional Cumberland sausages and Toulouse sausages. Others, such as frankfurters, are pre-cooked and just need reheating. The best contain a high percentage of quality meat. It's worth reading the ingredients before you buy because some cheaper sausages can contain very little actual meat. As with most meat products, buying the best sausages you can afford is nearly always worth it.

There are also dry-cured sausages, such as salami, which can be eaten as sold. They are made either of raw pork mixed with herbs, spices and curing salts, which are then dried before being sold; or they can be made from cooked pork which is mixed with seasoning. Salami's good in sandwiches, salads, risottos, on pizzas and in pasta sauces.

Roasting and slow-cooking pork

Pork joints can be roasted long and slow at a lower heat, or fast at a higher heat. Different cookbooks and chefs each have their own preferred method. We recommend that for medium meat you cook your pork at 180C/350F/Gas 4 for the first half of cooking then increase the temperature to 200C/375F/Gas 5 for the second half of cooking (this helps crisp up the crackling). Cook for 25 minutes per 450g/1lb.

As oven temperatures can vary it's worth investing in an inexpensive meat thermometer to be sure your meat is cooked through. There are two varieties available - one you insert in the thickest part of the raw joint and cook until the desired internal temperature is reached. The other is inserted into the cooked joint after roasting.

Recommended temperatures for cooking pork are:

Rare 65C (it must maintain this temperature for ten minutes); medium 70C (it must maintain this temperature for two minutes); well done 80C (it must maintain this temperature for 30 seconds). Remember to take the temperature from the centre of the meat.

Leave roast pork to rest for at least 15 minutes to half an hour before carving. Serve with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and apple sauce.

Pork fillet (or tenderloin) can be roasted as long as it's basted well, or 'barded' with slices of bacon, as in stuffed pork fillet with roasted apples. Other good roasting joints include ribs, belly and shoulder.

Braising and pot-roasting can be used for almost every cut of pork including larger joints - the addition of wine, water or stock results in a moist, succulent pork dish every time. Watch Mike Robinson braise pork belly in his video recipe for aromatic Chinese red pork belly.

Stewing or casseroling pork, either on the hob or in the oven, produces a rich, flavoursome dish with succulent, tender meat. This can also be an ideal way to cook the slightly tougher cuts such as shoulder and collar.

Other methods of cooking pork

Pork is ideal for frying, stir-frying, grilling or barbecuing. Grilled pork chops are a simple pleasure, or try an indulgent escalope cut from the pork fillet. This only takes minutes to cook, as you'll see in Mike Robinson's video recipe for Pork escalopes with lemon butter sauce.

Pork's ideal for marinating and is popular in oriental and Asian cookery. It's also ideal for stir-frying - strips of pork cook very quickly.

Barbecuing pork gives a fantastic sticky, chargrilled blackness and small joints are good for spit-roasting - most barbecues can be fitted with a spit, either hand-turned or with a battery-operated motor. The key to successful spit-roasting is to keep the coals at an even temperature, adding more coals, little and often, until the joint is cooked. If you fancy an entire spit-roast pig there are specialist companies available to cook it for you and deliver it to your door. There are also companies that will cook and carve it at your home.

Oven-baking is another method of cooking pork (to make raised pork pie, for instance). Sausage meat and minced pork are used in numerous recipes including Thai minced pork, pork burgers, pork terrine, Scotch eggs and pate.

Accompaniments

Most cuts of pork can be roasted, grilled or fried, and all cuts suit the gentler cooking methods of braising and pot-roasting, stewing and casseroling. Most pork (apart from that from rare breeds) is generally lean, so baste it frequently when roasting, grilling, barbecuing or frying to keep it moist.

Pork's mild flavour goes well with many spices and seasonings, including dry rubs and marinades. It's good with fruits and vegetables, especially apples, prunes, peaches, pineapple, apricots, pears, pickles, spiced red cabbage and pulses. Herbs that work well with pork include sage, rosemary and thyme; spices include juniper berries, ginger, allspice and nutmeg.

Recipes

Roast loin of pork with crackling and cider gravy by Mike Robinson (video recipe)

Pork with vinegar and garlic by Madhur Jaffrey (video recipe)

Stir-fried pork with chilli, mint and sugar-snap peas by Neil Perry