Chapter 6: Pork

Pork is not only very popular in North America but around most of the free world, and has been for many years. It can be retailed fresh, cured or smoked, and can bring considerable profit if it is merchandised in a variety of ways.

Unlike the bovine specie of beef, pork is not aged and should be processed and retailed as soon as possible after receiving to maintain freshness and flavor. The topic of this chapter differs little to that of bovine meats with respect to volunteering information on the production, processing and fabrication of pork and pork retail cuts.

Major topics are hog production, hog processing, grading of hogs, Canadian primal and sub-primal cuts of pork, pork offals and labelling requirements for pork.

Most descriptions of primal and sub-primal cuts of pork are enhanced with graphics and images assisting identification of pork cuts as a guide to the development of hands-on skills in the processing of pork and pork cuts. Included is a collection of retail images charted in cutting sequence from primal to retail cuts.