Hometown Favorites: The Magic of Pork

This week on Barbecue Brawl, it's all about hometown favorites and my beloved Hometown Pork Town. This magical animal has captured the hearts of many, and for good reason - pork fat is one of the most beautiful fats there are. Letting it render and crisp adds to the deliciousness, making every bite a sensory experience.

The Loin: A Lean Cut with a Twist

We're starting with a loin, which may seem like a pretty lean cut at first glance. However, we want to leave some fat cap on for self-basting as it cooks. This will help keep the meat moist and flavorful. But there's one thing we need to remove - any kind of silver skin or tough areas that can make the meat chewy. To do this, we'll take the tip of our knife and run it underneath the silver skin, aiming it up towards the excess fat. Then, we'll come back the other way, removing only the silver skin to prevent over-chewing.

The Power of Fat Cap

When it comes to pork, the fat cap is where it's at. Letting it render and crisp adds a delicious textural element to the dish. In this case, we've scored the fat just a little bit to help it turn into crackling as it cooks. This will give us a nice presentation and add depth to the flavor of our pork. The key is to keep the fat on, as it will keep the meat moist and flavorful.

Stuffed or Not?

Sometimes, people like to stuff their pork cuts with whatever they want - apples, pears, bacon, nuts, dried cherries... the possibilities are endless! If you're going to stuff your cut, you'll butterfly it down the middle, creating a little pocket for your fillings. Open it up, fill it with your desired ingredients, and then sear both sides before letting it roast in the pan or oven.

Cooking Hacks: Keeping Your Pork from Drying Out

One of the biggest mistakes people make when cooking pork is overcooking it. To avoid this, invest in a thermometer and learn to cook to the right temperature. I tend to enjoy my pork around 140 degrees, but if you're nervous, 150 is a safe bet. Don't move your meat around too much - let it develop a crust and then cook it to the desired temperature.

Basting with Flair

When it comes to basting our pork, we want to add some extra flavor and moisture. I like to use roasted vegetables or sauerkraut as my baste. The fat on top will crisp up beautifully, adding a delicious textural element to the dish. And that's not all - by letting that fat kind of crisp up, we'll be rewarded with a spectacularly delicious piece of pork.

So there you have it, folks! With these tips and tricks, you'll be well on your way to creating mouth-watering, hometown-style barbecue that will leave everyone begging for more. Don't forget to tune in to Barbecue Brawl for more cooking hacks, delicious recipes, and of course, amazing barbecue.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso this week on barbecue brawl it is all about hometown favorites for me hometown pork town it is a magical animal a lot of people get freaked out about the amount of fat honestly pork fat is one of the most beautiful fats there are and letting it render and crisp and doing all those things add to the deliciousness this is a loin here which is actually a pretty lean cut so we do want to leave some of that fat cap on there because it's going to almost like self-baste the meat as it's cooking but the things that you do want to remove is you want to remove any kind of silver skin or things that are tough so below the fat cap right here you can see that this is a little bit of silver skin which will make it very chewy so you're going to take the tip of the knife and run it underneath that silver and then you're going to aim it up so you're not cutting through the meat you're just aiming it up towards the silver skin and that excess fat and then you come back the other way towards you and you just remove that silver skin to ensure that your pork is not too chewy so in this case if we were doing a whole roast like this we're cleaned and ready to go you could score the fat a little bit and what that will do is as it is cooking and roasting it'll almost turn that fat cap into crackling which will give you a nice textural uh difference with the pork and it makes a nice presentation and you're keeping the fat on here which is going to keep the pork moist with a chop or a loin cut like this this is a nice thickness you know i usually say minimally about two fingers thick it has the fat cap on it sometimes people like to stuff a cut like this if you were going to stuff it you would just butterfly it down the middle you kind of create a little pocket open it up fill it with whatever you want to maybe some apples pears a little bit of bacon some nuts dried cherries get crazy close it back up sear both sides and let it roast in the pan or oven in that manner so this i would do mostly stove top finish in the oven and baste this i would do maybe with some roasted vegetables or over sauerkraut or cabbage and let that fat kind of crisp up on top and it will be spectacular um so a couple tips for keeping your pork from drying out on the grill one don't overcook it invest in a thermometer i tend to enjoy mine around 140 but if you are nervous 150 is the number you had to go to and you are 100 completely safe don't move the meat around too much let it develop a crust and then just cook it to the desired temperature you're gonna be fine all right guys tune in to barbecue brawl for some tips tricks and of course delicious barbecue youso this week on barbecue brawl it is all about hometown favorites for me hometown pork town it is a magical animal a lot of people get freaked out about the amount of fat honestly pork fat is one of the most beautiful fats there are and letting it render and crisp and doing all those things add to the deliciousness this is a loin here which is actually a pretty lean cut so we do want to leave some of that fat cap on there because it's going to almost like self-baste the meat as it's cooking but the things that you do want to remove is you want to remove any kind of silver skin or things that are tough so below the fat cap right here you can see that this is a little bit of silver skin which will make it very chewy so you're going to take the tip of the knife and run it underneath that silver and then you're going to aim it up so you're not cutting through the meat you're just aiming it up towards the silver skin and that excess fat and then you come back the other way towards you and you just remove that silver skin to ensure that your pork is not too chewy so in this case if we were doing a whole roast like this we're cleaned and ready to go you could score the fat a little bit and what that will do is as it is cooking and roasting it'll almost turn that fat cap into crackling which will give you a nice textural uh difference with the pork and it makes a nice presentation and you're keeping the fat on here which is going to keep the pork moist with a chop or a loin cut like this this is a nice thickness you know i usually say minimally about two fingers thick it has the fat cap on it sometimes people like to stuff a cut like this if you were going to stuff it you would just butterfly it down the middle you kind of create a little pocket open it up fill it with whatever you want to maybe some apples pears a little bit of bacon some nuts dried cherries get crazy close it back up sear both sides and let it roast in the pan or oven in that manner so this i would do mostly stove top finish in the oven and baste this i would do maybe with some roasted vegetables or over sauerkraut or cabbage and let that fat kind of crisp up on top and it will be spectacular um so a couple tips for keeping your pork from drying out on the grill one don't overcook it invest in a thermometer i tend to enjoy mine around 140 but if you are nervous 150 is the number you had to go to and you are 100 completely safe don't move the meat around too much let it develop a crust and then just cook it to the desired temperature you're gonna be fine all right guys tune in to barbecue brawl for some tips tricks and of course delicious barbecue you\n"