THE BUTCHERS CUT
BY ROB ADAMS
Butcher Rob Adams from Adams of Oxton gives us the
lowdown on the Pig and his delicious pulled pork recipe.
The pig is such a unique animal – it is easily domesticated
and makes an ideal animal to rear for the table.
Traditionally the pigs ideal habitat is near water as they
have no sweat glands and they need to wallow to keep
cool. They are therefore ideally suited to the wet climate
of the UK.
Pigs also need dense cover for shade – free range pork
is happy in the forest, brush and high grasses and make
snug dens in caves and hollows between large roots of old
trees. This can also be replicated on the farm by building
pig arks which replicate their snug dens.
Their poor eyesight is more than compensated by their
keen sense of smell which helps them find food by rooting
in the ground – traditionally they were excellent truffle
hunters, but the truffle collector had to be quick otherwise
the pig would quickly scoff the prized truffle!
Butchers love selling quality pork as there is an old saying
in French ‘’Tout est bon dans le cochon’’ (all the pig from
head to tail is good). British pork butchers have their own
slogan – ‘’we use everything but the oink’’. The versatility
of pork is exceptional and has been a staple in the British
diet for centuries.
CUTS OF PORK
There are 5 main cuts of pork:
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Leg – great for roasting whole or boned and rolled, it
also produces delicious mini pork steaks.
Chump – ideal for small roasting joints or bone in or
out chump chops.
Loin – this is a very versatile piece of meat, it can be
cut into chops, steaks, rack of pork or roasted whole,
rolled and stuffed or just simply roasted with the skin
for crackling providing bags of flavour.
Belly – A really delicious and moist cut – really prized
for slow cooking and great with oriental flavours. Cut
into strips, marinated and barbequed (belly draught)
it is a real favourite. Belly pork ribs are a staple in Asian
and American cookery, cut thickly they are meaty and
the meat on the bone is sweet and tender.
Shoulder – In the USA its called the ‘Boston Butt’
or ‘shoulder butt’ – this is well suited to long slow
cooking as it a well- developed muscle with plenty
of connective tissue that melts when it cooks – it
carries flavours and marinades well and forms one of
the ‘America’s’ (North and South) most staple meat
dishes ‘pulled pork’. It can also be seam butchered to
produce really meaty shoulder blade steaks.
Other cuts include the head, (makes a great dish called
Crubeen), the jowl (Bathchap) and the trotters which are
more gelatinous than meaty but are delicious when they
are slow cooked.
22 wirrallife.com