Preparation Tips

Preparation Methods

Pork is best when cooked to medium doneness - 155°F on a meat thermometer. Correctly cooked pork is juicy and tender, with a slight blush of pink in the center.

Dry or Wet?

There are two basic methods for cooking meats: dry heat and moist heat. Generally, dry-heat methods are best applied to naturally tender cuts of meat. Moist-heat methods tenderize less-tender cuts.

Dry-Heat Methods

• Grilling - for both small pork cuts cooked over direct heat and large pork cuts cooked with indirect heat
• Broiling - for small cuts such as chops, kabobs and pork patties
• Sautéing/Stir-Frying - for small pork cuts such as chops, cutlets and strips
• Panbroiling - for chops, tenderloin medallions, ham slices, bacon and ground pork patties
• Roasting - for large pork cuts - loin roasts, shoulder roasts, ham, leg roasts

Moist-Heat Mehtods

• Stewing - for smaller pieces of less-tender cuts, such as shoulder cubes
• Braising - for large or small cuts, but traditionally less-tender cuts