Pork

In this article

Chump Leg Belly

Ribs Loin Shoulder

Collar or neck end Head

Similar to loin, chump comes in the form of chops and steaks, plus you can also buy a mini joint of this meat. It's medium priced compared with the rest of the animal.

Leg is seen as the premium-quality pork joint. As a roasting joint, it provides lean meat, though it's the most costly cut. Steaks and diced meat from the leg are also very lean and good for grilling or stir-frying. The leg also gives ham and gammon, plus high-quality bacon.

Belly of pork is a lower-cost cut of meat, due to the relatively high traces of fat in it. However, this means that the cuts are ideal for longer cooking periods and recipes where the meat might dry out. Belly provides steaks (with or without bones), cubes and strips as well as being a cheaper roasting joint. The smaller cuts are ideal for barbecues and casseroles. Similarly, you can buy a mini joint of boned and rolled belly pork which can also be cooked over the barbecue in foil then browned with no foil a few minutes prior to serving. Mini or normal-sized belly joints can be trimmed by the butcher, but many people like to have the skin replaced or left on to provide crackling.

Ribs are a relatively cheap cut of pork as they contain a smaller ratio of meat to bone. The discarded bones from chops are sold as spare ribs - pieces that have some meat, but not enough to be classed as proper chops. These can be marinated and grilled or barbecued. Ribs are also cut and sold in the same way as chops, with quite a large amount of meat still on the bone. The rib joint of pork contains more meat and can be treated like the rack of lamb as a piece that's ideal for open roasting or glazing and can be carved easily between the ribs so long as the chine bone is removed.

The loin joint that runs across most of the back of the pig provides a number of smaller cuts which many people are familiar with. Chops contain some bone which makes them slightly cheaper than boneless steaks. Loin provides bacon with varying degrees of fat running through it, from lean to streaky. These cuts are all mid-priced for pork. For roasting, the loin joint costs a little more, but is very useful either on the bone or boned and rolled to give a piece of meat that's easily stuffed and carved.

The shoulder joint of pork can be bought as smaller cuts or as a whole roasting joint. It's relatively inexpensive, so is ideal for a roast if you're working on a tighter budget, as well as having a rich flavour. Shoulder meat is also used for diced cubes to make casseroles and kebabs as well as being minced and made into sausages.

The collar of pork is used for a number of different cuts such as spare ribs, chops, boneless steaks, diced pork and mince. The common feature of all the meat is that it's slightly fatty and therefore doesn't dry out when cooked for a long time. The cost of collar cuts is relatively low compared to other pork cuts.

In Britain, the head joint is very rarely used except for medieval banquets, but it's still important in other countries. The head is useful for making stocks and soups as it contains a large amount of bone. One use of the head that does survive is in making brawn. The head is boiled with herbs and seasoning, then the meat is cleaned off and refrigerated with the stock to make a loaf, similar to a terrine or pâté. If you were to buy the joint, it would be very cheap.