Pork Cuts: A quick, handy-dandy guide

Australians certainly are in love with pork, who wouldn't be when it tastes this good! Its easy to cook and is great in a wide range of dishes and styles of cooking from classic roasts to BBQs to everyday meals. With a range of porky cuts, sometimes it gets a little confusing on what is best for what kind of cooking or meal. So, we decided to make this cheat sheet guide to help you get the most from your pork.

Belly
One of the most if not the most loved cuts the belly is the heavenly blend of cracking crispiness and soft juicy meat. The belly is the underside of the pig meaning it can be quite a fatty cut perfect for recipes like sous vide pork belly,oven roasted pork belly and Asian style cooking.

Leg
The most common cut of pork, the leg is enjoyed by almost everyone and is the perfect centrepiece for any larger dinner events. The leg isn't picky about how it gets cooked, you can try roasting, pot-roasting and braising.

Loin
Tender, lean and packed with awesome flavour, the pork loin is the perfect cut for those slow-roasting or slow-cooking recipes. Being lean means is more prone to drying out easily so be careful to not overcook it especially at high temperatures.

Shoulder
The shoulder is as expected a cut from the front of the animal and has a bounty of uses from slow-roasting over coals and BBQing. The shoulder is used to make gorgeous shoulder bacon and is also de-boned and rolled into what is called a collar. The collar makes for a spectacular feast when wrapped in extra fat (we can do this for you) and slow roasted over coals like seen here in our Double Crackled Pork video.

Spare Ribs
If you aren't afraid to get your hands a little dirty and get sauce on your face spare ribs are truly delish cut you wont be able to get enough of. These little wonders come from the belly and breastbone. Once grilled, sous vide or even oven-cooked get stuck in a meat the meat right off the bone.

Tenderloin
Pan frying, grilling or roasting are the best ways to cook the leanest cut of pork. Its characteristics include being boneless and having a seriously splendid taste. Being so lean means just like the loin the tenderloin is prone to drying out quickly if overcooked. So be careful not to overdo it.

Hocks

Our Free-Range Ham hocks come from the leg of the animal and are crammed full with collagen which when cooked, slow and slow style makes for the most amazing rich flavour. This cut is a combo of meat, bone, fat and skin, all adding a layer of texture and flavour when cooking, hence the reason it is commonly used in soul food and rich German dishes. Once the hock is cooked the juices and any leftovers are commonly used in a broth, a stew or as a stock.