ontario pork news

During the holiday season, every consumer dollar needs to go the extra mile. To meet all their needs, some families forego meat a couple of nights each week -- which hurts your bottom line. The solution? Economical cuts of pork.

The pork belly primal represents about 20% of the hog carcass. See what merchandising opportunities you’ve been missing with this versatile cut!

The leg primal is the hog’s hind leg. A large cut, it accounts for approximately 24% of the carcass weight. The bone-in leg contains the aitch, or pelvic bone, leg, and hind shank bones. The leg, or fresh ham, contains large muscles with a relatively small amount of fat and connective tissue.

In the previous issue of this newsletter, we focused on the loin section of the hog—home to some of the most popular (and expensive) cuts of pork.

We now move to the shoulder, a cost-effective yet versatile cut—think pulled pork, braised blade roast and marinated pork satays.

In the last installment of this newsletter, we started by breaking the entire pork carcass into the major retail and foodservice primals. We can now focus on sections of the hog that are more manageable in size and that contain muscle groups that are similar in composition and utilization.

With consumer trends and tastes constantly changing at an alarming rate, it’s important for retail and retail professionals to have a solid foundation about how major pork cuts are broken down. Having this knowledge allows for the chef, meat manager, or even home consumer to creatively explore undervalued cuts and provide for innovative and exciting culinary experiences.