In reference to BBQ Grilling and Smoking, there are a lot of things, which can be done with Pork. Obviously ribs are the primary product, but don’t discount pork lions, pork butts, pork chops, even whole pigs or hogs and bacon. Bacon is after all a smoked product.
Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years:
- Pork Lions are exceptional. A good rubdown with some Texas BBQ Rub placed on your smoker for a few hours (depending on size and weight) and you’ve got just a great smoked roast for dinner. Very little waste in this cut of meat.
- Thick cut Pork Chops on the grill runs a close second to a good Texas grilled T-bone steak.
- And finally on cold winter mornings (we have one every now and then here in Southeast Texas) nothing beats some thick sliced hickory smoked bacon from the butcher. It’s the ultimate comfort food.
Millions of males around the world have got great levitra uk dentech.co relief from this treatment. Availability of Kamagra tablets- Kamagra tablets are manufactured http://www.dentech.co/?shop=5312 cialis generic cipla in other countries using same ingredients but available in low cost. cialis on sale A medical weight loss center can personalize a program that fits your needs and gives you the rapid weight loss you need and want. cheap levitra Parents and caretakers can also monitor the changes that the CP child goes through like tracking, recording child’s condition, progress, and also area of concern.
In conclusion, pork has matured very well over the years. It’s readily available, in many cases it’s cheaper than beef and cooked right it’s very good. It’s versatile, nutritious and healthier than many people think. Even us Texans are beginning to take it seriously and incorporate it into our smoking and grilling recipe collections.
Wall Street and Pork
One last bit of information for you to impress your friends with at the next BBQ outing. Did you ever wonder where Wall Street in Manhattan got its name? Personally it never crossed my mind, but once brought to my attention it’s very interesting. According to the National Pork Producers Council … “In the late 1700’s free-roaming hogs were famous for rampaging through the valuable grain fields of colonial New York City farmers. The Manhattan Island residents chose to block the troublesome hogs with a long, permanent wall on the northern edge of what is now Lower Manhattan. A Street came to border this wall — named aptly enough, Wall Street.”
Now you have something to ask all of those people standing around watching you cook.
PORK – THE OTHER WHITE MEAT
OK the story of pork begins in the new world with the early explorers bringing with them pigs and they were turned lose in the Florida and worked their way up the East coast to the Carolinas and Virginia. The pigs ate on nuts and there were plenty of hickory nuts to eat in the area we now call the Carolinas and the surrounding states. So it is logical for the folks on the East coast to be the experts when it comes to cooking pork. They have been cooking pork since the early settlers began to settle these United States and it is in their blood like beef is in the blood of folks from Texas.
But the knowledge of cooking pork began to work its way through the south and into Tennessee and Missouri. The end of slavery spread the knowledge of cooking pork to wherever the former slaves migrated to. All through the South and into the Mid-West. Pork cooking spread as rapidly as the darn pigs were multiplying.
So the rest of us are learning just how good pork really is, we are behind the experts on the East Coast but we are catching on to just how good pork really is. We all have known about pork ribs but there are so many good cuts of pork for us to grill and smoke. We have loins and tenderloins, pork chops, pork butts, picnics etc. So lets learn about each of these and by all means give them a try in the near future. Pork prices are down so pork is an excellent buy right now.
COOKING PORK – EASY AS 1-2-3
Pork Loins
The loin actually refers to an area of the pig. This piece of meat comes from the back of the pig. It is this area of the pig that gives us the leanest and most tender pork cuts.
There are three main parts of the loin itself. The blade end, which is the portion of the loin that is closest to the shoulder and tends to be fatty. The sirloin end, which is located closest to the rump and tends to be bony. And then there is the center cut which comes from the middle and is lean, tender, and tasteful and the most expensive of the loin cuts.
My favorite of the loins is naturally the center loin cut. There are actually two different center loin cuts; the center cut loin and the tenderloin. The tenderloin is located just underneath the center loin and is attached to it by a strong silvery membrane. If you buy tenderloin and there is a silvery skin running along the tenderloin you need to remove it before cooking.
The Center Cut Loin
The center loin cut is approximately 4 to 5 inches in diameter and approximately 2 feet long. These will weigh approximately 8 to 10 pounds in the full center cut. Usually these are divided up into pieces that are typically 6 to 8 inches long. A piece of center loin is very lean with a small fat cap running along one side of the loin. The fat cap is approximately ¼ inch thick. This piece of pork is great on the grill or the smoker. Cook with the fat side up and cook to an internal temperature of approx. 155 to 160 degrees. Let the piece of pork stand for a few minutes before cutting. You can cut perfect slices from this cut of pork and serve them on a roll, a bun, or just bread with a nice sauce. Cut them to your desired thickness.
The Tenderloin
The tenderloin is a much smaller piece of meat. It is usually 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter and tends to tail down to a very small piece at the end. These are usually sold in pairs. They will weigh about a pound each. This is the easiest and most delicious piece of pork to grill or smoke. It has a very short cooking time. Cook this piece of meat to an internal temperature of approximately 155 degrees. Cooking times for this are 30 minutes on the grill to approximately 1 to 1 ½ hours on the pit at low temperatures.
Pork Chops
I love to cook pork chops on the grill. This cut of pork is tasty, not too fatty, easy and fast. There are in fact several different cuts of pork chops. There are rib chops, sirloin chops, and loin chops. The best chops for grilling are ¾ to 1-inch thick chops. As for the pit, this piece of meat does not seem to find it’s way to cooking well on the low and slow method. Best done on a grill using direct medium heat. They cook very quickly in 8 to 12 minutes using direct medium heat. For grilling meats I suggest using Texas Grilling Magic available on our web site.
A nice finishing sauce or sauce to eat on the side of your pork loins or chops is Texas Pepper Jelly.