Eating High on the Hog

1950’s meat hog type.  Lard-type hogs were still being produced back then.

Modern pork chops often turn out resembling the other dry meat (boneless, skinless, tasteless).  Due to a minimal chance of ingesting muscle worms (Trichinella Spiralis) fully cooking pork remains a widespread practice.  Lack of tenderness is not a problem when eating meat from market age pork loins or poultry carcasses (unless one overcooks it).  Fat is believed to be what primarily gives meat its species specific flavor.  Today’s cooked pork loins  are often lacking in both robust pork flavor and an adequate degree of juiciness; at least partially due to reduced intramuscular and subcutaneous fat levels.  Juiciness, tenderness and flavor are the primary palatability characteristics.  Most modern pork loins display only one of these three attributes: a desired tenderness level.  This demand effecting fact is likely why whole, boneless, closely trimmed, “minimally processed” pork loins can sometimes be purchased for just over $2 per pound.  However, enhanced baby-back ribs currently sell in the $3 per pound range at the same stores.  About 1/4 inch of pork loin is often left on baby-back ribs in order to take advantage of rib’s higher price per pound.  The upside of this practice to consumers is meatier ribs; the downside to them is that the tender pork loin muscles will likely dry-out by the time the muscles between the ribs are cooked long enough to become tender.  Oh well, perhaps BBQ sauce can be used to help cover that palatability deficiency.

Around 75% of a market hog carcass is further processed into items such as lean bacon (everyone’s favorite), lean ham, cottage butts, smoked picnics and hundreds of different sausage type products.  Over time the pork carcass region that was once cherished as “Eating High on the Hog” has morphed into an underutilized meat cut.  Meat plants try to “Naturally” enhance retail pork loins by needle injecting them with water and salt.  Salt adds flavor, plus increases cooked product water holding capacity by swelling raw muscle proteins.  Sadly, demand still has to be maintained by offering relatively low prices on this “middle-meats” cut.  It would be a shame to see yester-years High on the Hog eating experience forgotten in the short span of a generation; like juicy medium-rare hamburgers were.