Pork

Despite the advertising campaign that claimed pork to be the 'other white meat', pork is in fact red meat. The pig is one of the oldest forms of livestock, having been domesticated as early as 5000 BC, and as the saying goes you can use "everything but the oink".

Pork may be cooked from fresh meat or cured over time. Cured meat products include ham and bacon. The carcass may be used in many different ways for fresh meat cuts, with the popularity of certain cuts and certain carcass proportions varying worldwide.

Head - This can be used to make brawn, stocks and soups. After boiling, the ears can be fried or baked and eaten separately.

Spare Rib Roast/Spare Rib Joint/Blade Shoulder/Shoulder Butt - This is the shoulder and contains the shoulder blade. It can be boned out and rolled up as a roasting joint, or cured as "collar bacon". Not to be confused with the rack of spare ribs from the front belly. Pork butt, despite its name, is from the upper part of the shoulder. Boston Butt, or Boston-Style Shoulder, cut comes from this area, and may contain the shoulder blade.

Hand/Arm Shoulder/Arm Picnic - This can be cured on the bone to make a ham-like product, or used in sausages.

Loin - This can be cured to give back bacon or Canadian-style bacon. The loin and belly can be cured together to give a side of bacon. The loin can also be divided up into roasts (blade loin roasts, center loin roasts, and sirloin roasts come from the front, center, or rear of the loin), back ribs (also called baby back ribs, or riblets), pork cutlets, and pork chops. A pork loin crown roast is arranged into a circle, either boneless or with rib bones protruding upward as points in a crown. Pork tenderloin, removed from the loin, should be practically free of fat.

Fatback - The subcutaneous fat and skin on the back are used to make pork rinds, a variety of cured "meats", lardons, and lard.

Belly/Side/Side Pork - The belly, although a fattier meat, can be used for steaks or diced stir-fry meat. Belly pork may be rolled for roasting or cut for streaky bacon.

Legs/Hams - Although any cut of pork can be cured, technically speaking only the back leg is entitled to be called a ham. Legs and shoulders, when used fresh, are usually cut bone-in for roasting, or leg steaks can be cut from the bone. Three common cuts of the leg include the rump (upper portion), center, and shank (lower portion).

Trotters - Both the front and hind trotters can be cooked and eaten, as can the tail.

Spare ribs, or spareribs - Are taken from the pig's ribs and the meat surrounding the bones. St. Louis-style spareribs have the sternum, cartilage, and skirt meat removed.

Knuckles, intestines, jowls and all other parts of the pig may also be eaten.