Cooking Pork Roast, How to Identify and Select

Before you choose and begin cooking a pork roast it helps to understand which part of the animal it came from. The pig is divided into four primal cuts (see illustration).

The tenderness or toughness of pork really depends on how much the animal has had to use the muscle. Cuts from the shoulder and leg area are used for movement, is going to be tougher than cuts from the loin, which lies in the upper back section.

Pork is about 30 percent leaner than it was 25 years ago. This is good news for the low fat diets, but this means less flavor, moisture and tenderness, so choosing the proper cooking method for each cut will make a huge difference when preparing today's pork.

We have rated each pork roast for flavor based on experience, research and feedback from others. The rating system is out of 5, the best being 5/5 and the lowest 1/5.

All pork can be tender if you know how to cook a roast, meat from different parts of the pig must be cooked in different ways to maximize flavor and tenderness, by following the pork roast cooking time instructions you will always have great tasting easy pork recipes.

Enhanced or seasoned pork is becoming more and more popular in grocery stores in the United States and Canada. If the pork you have purchased is enhanced do not use a brine solution or add any salt to the recipe. Read this article to learn more about enhanced or seasoned pork.

Pork Roast

SHOULDER

The shoulder lies between the rib section of the loin and the for-shank. The shoulder is divided into 2 sections, the more popular upper shoulder which is called the blade or butt and the lower shoulder which is called the picnic or arm shoulder.

The shoulder is a heavily exercised muscle with a great deal of fat, making the meat intensely flavorful. Cuts from this area benefit from long, slow cooking to become tender.

Shoulder Blade Roast (Boston Butt)(Oven)

Pulled Pork (Barbecue)

---

LOIN

The loin is the pig's entire back, attached to it are back ribs and the tenderloin. The loin lies between the shoulder and leg and contain the most popular cuts on the pig. The loin is lean and tender but is easily dried out if overcooked.

Boneless Center Loin Roast (Oven)	Boneless Center Loin Roast (Grill)	Boneless Rib Roast (Oven)	Boneless Rib Roast (Grill)
Baby Back Ribs (Barbecue)	Pork Tenderloin (Oven)	Pork Tenderloin (Grill)

---

LEG

The leg or fresh ham is the hind leg, lean with robust flavor and texture. The leg can be left whole bone in or cut into smaller pork roast. Some grocery stores bone out the leg and cut into 3 muscles: inside, outside, and tip. The leg is also a popular cut for wet and dry cured smoked hams.

Pork Leg Shank Roast (Oven)

Pork Leg Butt(Sirloin) Roast (Oven)

---

BELLY

The pork belly is the underside of the pig and home to side ribs and side bacon as well as a variety of other processed pork products. The belly is fatty and very flavorful.

Spare Ribs (Side Ribs) (Barbecue)

Spare Ribs (Side Ribs) (Oven)

Roasted Pork Belly (Side Pork) (Oven)

---

Can't find a cut of meat or recipe you are looking? In the Google search box simply just enter the word you are in search of.

Pork is one of the most consumed meats in Germany and with good reason. It's so delicious and easy to cook. Put international cuisine on your table by preparing breaded pork chops, homemade sausage, or pork hocks and enjoy the compliments.

Are you still worried about the fat content in today's pork? The nutrients in today's pork can be beneficial to a healthy, balanced diet, even with its fat content! So to learn more about a healthy, balanced diet, click here to head to Diabetic-Dieting.com

Go To Home Page

Go To Pork Chops

Return To Top - Pork Roast