18 Pork
Pork is a very popular and versatile meat. Due to its size, it can be merchandised and delivered as whole, in sides, or broken down into primals (Figure 23). The majority of the pork comes from choice butcher hogs that are about six months old at the age of slaughter. The entire dressed hog carcass weighs about 75 kilograms (165 pounds). Very little of the hog carcass goes to waste. It can be retailed fresh, cured, or smoked and can be very profitable if merchandised in a number of ways. Intestines are processed for sausage casings, and fat is harvested to be used in sausage manufacturing as well as barding and larding of lean meats. Head, feet, and skin are used for their rich amounts of natural gelatin. Occasionally feet and hocks are sold as sweet pickle.
The side of pork is broken down into sub-primals from the four primals: pork shoulder, pork leg, pork loin, and pork belly as shown in Figure 24 and Table 30.
| Primal | Sub-Primal |
| Pork leg | Pork leg butt portion (D) |
| Pork leg shank portion (C) | |
| Pork hock (B) | |
| Pork foot (A) | |
| Pork loin | Pork loin rib end (G) |
| Pork loin centre (F) | |
| Pork sirloin (E) | |
| Pork belly | No further breakdown (H) |
| Pork shoulder | Pork shoulder blade (I) |
| Pork shoulder picnic (J) | |
| Pork jowl (K) | |
| Pork foot (M) | |
| Pork hock (L) |
Table 30 -Pork primals and sub-primals
Pork Leg
The pork leg is a very lean portion of the hog. It can be separated into three muscle groups: the inside, outside, and tip. It also contains a hock and a foot. The leg is tender and mostly free from connective tissue, making it ideal for dry heat cookery. Fresh roasts and steaks are processed from the leg as well as cutlets. Most commonly, the pork leg is cured and smoked to produce ham. It can also be dry cured and aged to produce prosciutto. Retail and smoked cuts from the leg are shown in Table 31.
| Primal | Retail Meat Sales Cuts | Retail Cured and smoked Cuts | Alternate Names |
| Pork Leg | Pork leg inside roast | Pork leg ham whole (b)(bl) | Fresh ham |
| Pork leg outside roast | Pork leg ham piece boneless | ||
| Pork leg tip roast | |||
| Pork leg steak (b)(bl) | Pork leg ham steak (b)(bl) | ||
| Pork leg cutlet | Schnitzel | ||
| Pork leg shank portion | Pork leg ham (shank portion) | ||
| Pork leg centre portion | |||
| Pork leg butt portion | |||
| Pork hock | Pork leg ham (butt portion) | Shank | |
| Pork foot | Pork hock (smoked) | Trotter |
Pork Loin
The pork loin is commonly split into three sections: the rib, sirloin, and loin centre. Alternatively, the pork loin can be split at the end of the tenderloin, labelling the two halves as pork loin rib half and pork loin sirloin half. The pork loin is most often merchandised fresh for chops and roasts. The loin in the most tender primal of the hog and is ideal for dry heat cookery. It can be cured and smoked to make favourites such as back bacon. Retail and smoked cuts from the loin are shown in Table 32.
| Primal | Retail Mea