Australian Pork - Your Trusted Choice - Cooking tips - how to cook pork, maintaining tenderness and juiciness.

The secret to making a really tasty, juicy pork dish starts with your choice of Australian Pork and finishes with the correct cooking method. With such a variety of Australian Pork cuts and so many delicious ways to cook it, you are almost spoilt for choice! Well, look no further. With our comprehensive Australian Pork cooking guide you can’t go wrong!

Always use the right cut of pork for the recipe.
Use Australian Pork - the best quality fresh pork.
Avoid frequent prodding of the meat while cooking.
It is always a good investment to use a kitchen meat thermometer. If checking with an internal meat thermometer, do not let the thermometer touch the bone.
Don't overcook the meat, Australian Pork is best cooked on medium heat. This allows the heat to gently cook through to the inside of the meat with less chance of burning or drying out. As the meat continues to cook after it's removed from the heat, stop cooking just before its fully cooked to get the right texture and juiciness. Australian Pork does not need to be fully cooked and can be cooked to your preference, even 'medium rare'.Unlike pork from other regions, Australian Pork pigs are bred in accordance to approved strict standards that ensure healthy meat, even when medium rare!
Remember: Australian Pork is best cooked on medium heat. This allows the heat to gently cook through to the inside of the meat with less chance of burning or drying out. Cooked on medium heat, Australian Pork is easy and quick to prepare to perfection.
Always cut the meat across the grain so it's more tender.

HEALTHY COOKING TIPS

When purchasing pork for everyday consumption, look for cuts with lower fat content such as cuts from the loin or leg. For special occasion, higher fat or more indulgent cuts are best.
Before cooking, trim visible fat to reduce fat content almost in half.
Cook pork using a low fat cooking method, such as roasting, grilling, broiling, steaming, poaching, braising, stir fry or stewing.
Prepare pork with herbs and spices to enhance the flavour rather than using sauces.
To reduce the amount of fat used when frying, stir-frying, sautéing, or searing pork in a pan, use a nonstick pan which requires less added fat, or use a nonstick pan with a fat free nonstick cooking spray.
If using the drippings from roasted meat to make sauces and soups, cool in the refrigerator to cause the fat to rise to the surface. The fat will solidify, making it easy to remove and discard.
After cooking ground pork, place in a strainer and rinse under hot water to remove excess fat.
After stewed meat is cooked, let it cool and then chill. Once the stew is chilled, the fat will rise to the top and can be easily scraped off and discarded. Leaving the stew to sit overnight in the refrigerator will also enhance its flavour.

COOKING TECHNIQUES

Here are some helpful tips for various cooking techniques:

Stir Fry

Strips, Diced, Mince – high heat for 2-3 minutes till light brown.

Tips:

All your ingredients should be chopped and ready.
Have your ingredients cut fairly even in size so that they cook evenly.
Add the ingredients that take longer to cook first.
The best way to cut meat for Stir Fry is across the grain.
Always have your wok nice and hot. Look out for the heat haze -- this tells you it is ready for cooking, but try not to burn the oil as your resulting meal may have a burnt taste.
Cook in small batches (200g) to keep the heat in your wok.
The best pork cuts for Stir Fry: Fillet, loin cuts, leg cuts, spare ribs, sausages, diced, strips and mince.

Braise/Stew/Casserole

Scotch Steaks, Forequarter Chops, Diced, Hocks, Pork Belly, Ribs - Simmer on low heat for a minimum of two hours or, if slow cooking in the oven, use a covered oven-proof dish and cook in a slow oven at 150°C for an hour per kg.

Tips:

Slow-cooking methods are great for value-priced cuts.
Cut meat into equal sizes to ensure even cooking.
To achieve some extra flavour, sear or brown the pork first.
Scoop off fat that appears on the top of the pot.
Perfect cuts for Braise/Stew or Casserole: Cuts from the scotch (neck), forequarter cuts, sausages, leg cuts, hocks or shanks, ribs and belly.

Roast

Roast with crackling – Preheat oven to 220°C. Cook for 20 minutes at 220°C, then turn down oven to 180°C and roast for 40 minutes per kg. Rest under foil for 5-10 minutes.
Roast without crackling – Sear first in a pan. Place in a preheated 180°C oven and cook for 40 minutes per kg. Rest under foil for 5-10 minutes.

Tips:

The secret for perfect crackling is the combination of heat, oil and salt!
Rub oil and salt well into the scored rind and cook in a preheated 220°C oven for 20 minutes.
To assist even cooking, place the pork roast on an elevated rack in the oven. Alternatively, place pork roast on large chopped roasting vegetables to elevate.
The best pork cuts for roasting: Loin chops, rack, rolled loin, rolled belly, leg, rolled shoulder, scotch roast, loin, topside, and mini roast.

Pan Fry, BBQ or Grill

Steaks – medium heat 3 minutes each side, depending on thickness
Chops and Cutlets – medium heat for 3 minutes per side, depending on thickness
Spare ribs – medium heat 7–10 minutes each side
Fillet – medium heat, rolling onto each side for 3 minutes until just a hint of pink in the middle
Sausages and mince rissoles – medium heat 4-6 minutes till cooked through
Schnitzels – medium heat for a minute per side until browned
Kebabs (Diced) – medium heat 3 minutes per side

Tips:

Pre-heat grill, BBQ or pan.
It is recommended to keep meat at room temperature before cooking.
Turn meat only once and refrain from frequent prodding. This will ensure the pork is juicy and tender.
Experiment with using spray oil on the grill or BBQ as it adds flavour while using less oil.
Rest the pork for 1-2 minutes before serving except for sausages and mince.
Great pork cuts for Pan Fry, BBQ or Grill: Loin cuts, fillet, spare ribs,
leg cuts, scotch steak, schnitzel, sausages and mince.

Double-Boiling

Double boiling is a traditional Chinese cooking method, similar to steaming, but requires a longer cooking time, normally several hours, until the food is thoroughly cooked and tender.

These days, most people use a utensil called a double-boiler. This is actually two pots, one sitting on top of the other. The bottom pot contains boiling water, while the top pot is filled with ingredients to be cooked.

Water in the bottom pot is kept simmering over low to medium heat to provide the constant temperature required to cook the food placed in the top pot. This cooking process takes about 3-4 hours, but since there is no direct heat used, there is little chance of burning the food. Also, with low evaporation, the food values and nutrients are retained. Hence, double-boiling is a very healthy cooking method.

Tips:

Double boiling makes your soups more robust and fragrant. Enhance the flavour with dried seafood like scallops, abalones or Chinese ham.
Ideal pork cuts for double boiling include: spare ribs, prime loin ribs, baby loin ribs, even lean hind tender (in block).
Flame should not be high, but constant and stable.
Ensure there is enough water in the bottom pot.
Some of the dishes suitable for double boiling are: Spare Ribs with Lotus Root Soup, Lean Pork double boiled with Chinese herbs or Ginseng.

Microwaving Pork

Microwaving is a quick and handy method of cooking pork. When cooked properly in the microwave, the results will give you a juicy, tender cut of pork. Although the flavour of the meat will not be enhanced as it is with other cooking methods, such as frying, grilling, sautéing, stir-frying and roasting, pork has the ability to absorb flavors, so its taste can be enhanced by the use of herbs, spices and other flavorings. Such flavorings as chili powder, ginger, paprika, rosemary, thyme, coriander, brown sugar and maple syrup work well with pork. It can also be cooked with fruit, in wine or in fruit juices to infuse a unique flavour.

When microwaving pork, it is best to follow the manufacturer's instruction manual because different varieties of microwave vary in cooking times, depending on their size and wattage. Smaller boneless cuts of pork cook better in the microwave than larger cuts. If microwaving larger cuts, the bones should be removed because they can block the meat around them from being cooked thoroughly. Pork should be microwaved at a medium to low setting, with the larger cuts being cooked at a lower setting than the smaller cuts, to allow the heat to penetrate into the centre of the cut without overcooking the outer layers. Pork should not be cooked on high settings in the microwave because it causes the meat to become tough.

Place smaller pork cuts in a microwave-safe dish and cover as instructed by the recipe. Cuts that are not uniform in size and shape should be arranged so that the larger, denser pieces are placed around the outer edge and the smaller pieces in the middle. Halfway through the cooking time, the pieces should be rearranged by turning and exchanging positions of pieces that are cooking faster with those that are cooking more slowly. This will assist in getting most of the pieces done at approximately the same time. Larger cuts, such as roasts, will benefit from being placed in a cooking bag. The roast should be placed inside the bag, which is placed in an uncovered microwave-safe dish.

When cooking, follow the times stated in the recipe as closely as possible and make proper adjustments according to any variance in microwave sizes. The pork should be first cooked for the shortest time suggested in a recipe as you want to be sure that it does not overcook; you can always cook it for longer if it is not done. It is important to observe the standing times stated in the recipes before testing for doneness because the meat will continue to cook through conduction after it is taken out of the microwave. After the proper standing time, test the meat for doneness with a meat thermometer in several locations to ensure that it has been cooked evenly throughout. Its final temperature should be 160°F. Pork should never be partially cooked in the microwave unless it is going to be transferred immediately to another heat source to finish cooking.

Steaming Pork

Steaming is a moist heat method of cooking. It results in tender and moist meat through the use of steam. When steaming meat, minimum shrinkage occurs. It is one of the healthiest methods of cooking because no additional fat is used. Even though water is used, the meat retains more of the nutrients because it does not sit directly in the water, preventing the nutrients from being extracted from the meat. Pork can be steamed with a traditional steamer that fits on top of a saucepan or by using a rack that sits in the bottom of a tightly covered pan that allows the food to be suspended above the water. Steaming can also be done by the use of a bamboo steamer or an electric steamer.

Steaming is very popular in Asian cooking. Often, the pork is ground, diced, cubed, or sliced before steaming. Ribs are also steamed. On many occasions, other ingredients are added to the meat or poured over it before steaming. Ground pork and diced pork are often mixed with other ingredients and formed into balls before steaming.

When steaming pork with a traditional steamer, fill the steamer pot half full of water and bring to a full boil using a high heat. Depending on the recipe, seasoning, herbs and other flavorings can be added to the water to be infused into the meat during steaming. Place a single layer of meat in the steamer and place the steamer in the pot over the boiling water, making sure no water is coming up through the holes in the steamer. Cover and cook for the amount of time indicated in the recipe. If using a rack or tray in the bottom of a large pot instead of a traditional steamer, add at least one inch of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Place the pork in a heatproof dish and place the dish on the rack in the pot of boiling water. Be sure water is not boiling up over the heatproof dish. Cover with a tight lid and cook for the appropriate time. Check for doneness and if thoroughly cooked, remove meat from steamer and serve as directed in the recipe.

Tips:

To give pork extra flavour, marinate cubed pork, sliced pork and ribs before steaming.
Impart flavor into the meat by adding your chosen ingredients to the steaming water.
You can add other ingredients, such as vegetables, to be steamed with the pork but be sure to not overcrowd.
A time saver when preparing recipes that call for pork and rice, steam pork over rice as it is cooking.
Try not to remove the cover of the pot during the cooking process. This will allow heat and steam to escape, resulting in extended cooking times.

Poaching Pork

Poaching is a moist heat method of cooking. Because no fat is used when cooking the meat, It is also a healthy method of cooking pork.. The pork retains the flavour, tenderness and moisture through a gentle simmering process. Poaching is a great cooking method to use for pork cuts that are naturally less tender, such as shoulder cuts, leg/ham cuts and pork shanks. This method provides a very flavourful cut of pork because it draws additional flavour from the meat and the bones as it cooks. Additional flavour can be imparted into the meat by adding flavouring or seasoning, such as bay leaves, cloves, allspice and cinnamon sticks, to the poaching water.

The poached pork can be eaten as part of a main meal or used as an ingredient for sandwiches and other dishes. The liquid in which the meat is poached can be used as a broth or reduced and used in making a sauce to be served with the meat. It can also be used to cook other foods to be served with the pork, such as dumplings or vegetables.

When poaching, do not use a pan that is too large. This will help avoid using too much water, because this may result in a liquid that has a diluted flavour. The pan should be just large enough so that the liquid can move freely around the cut of pork. The liquid used for poaching can be plain water, water seasoned with herbs and spices, stock, or water with the addition of ingredients used as flavouring agents, such as onion, other vegetables, fruits, fruit juices or wine.