Pork cooking can take on a variety of guises. Depending on what you would like to cook you will need to seek out a recipe for it. Most importantly you will need to ensure that it is cooked properly and thoroughly, times and temperatures will depend on the recipe that you have chosen.
With most pork cooking, particularly if it is a joint you will need to cook it for half an hour per pound at 180 degrees Celsius. In any event, the temperature in the middle will need to be at least 70 degrees Celsius. Obviously with thinner cuts of pork they will cook quicker and you will need to account for this. Although your recipe will tell you the temperature and the cooking time, every oven is different so it is advisable to have an oven thermometer handy. The temperature of most ovens will differ from the setting you put the dial to. Alongside that, or in addition to, you may like to get yourself a meat thermometer so you can insert it into the meat after cooking to make sure that it is done correctly.
Pork cooking with thicker cuts of meat will need to be cooked slower to ensure that you don’t cook the outside whilst leaving the inside raw. Once the meat is done you will need to leave it to rest otherwise it can be quite tough. The resting period allows all of the juices that have risen to the surface during cooking to sink back into the meat and for the muscle fibres to relax, giving a much more succulent meat.
Undercooked pork carries the risk of making you ill, whereas a meat such as beef is often served rare; this is not the case when pork cooking. As will all cooking methods, practice makes perfect and once you have cooked pork once or twice you will be more adept at knowing how to cook it just right.
In addition it will be beneficial to source the best quality meat that you can afford for your pork cooking. Ideally, you would get it from a butcher, not only does this give support to your local businesses you will find that the meat will be a lot tastier. A butcher will be able to tell you the region of the country the pork comes from, maybe even down to the individual farm. They will also be able to inform you of the species of pig that it has come from. Although this may not seem such a big issue, different varieties of pork can have largely varying tastes. If you can afford it you should think about trying one of the rare breeds. It is the farming of these rare breeds that keep the population of them up and you will often find they have a much more superior taste.
