Cooking with Pork

The perfect serving of pork is cooked to a final internal cooked temperature of 145 degrees F^o as measured by a food thermometer, followed by a three-minute rest time. Ground pork, like all ground meats, should still be cooked to 160 degrees F^o.

There are two basic methods for cooking meats: dry heat and moist heat. Generally, dry-heat methods are best applied to naturally tender cuts of meat. Moist-heat methods tenderize less-tender cuts. Click images below to learn more about each preparation method. 

Dry-Heat Methods

• Grilling for both small cuts cooked over direct heat and large pork cuts cooked with indirect heat
• Broiling for small cuts such as chops, kabobs and pork patties
• Sautéing for small pork cuts such as chops, cutlets and strips
• Panbroiling for chops, tenderloin medallions, ham slices, bacon and ground pork patties
• Roasting for large pork cuts – loin roasts, shoulder roasts, ham, leg roasts

Moist-Heat Methods

• Stewing for smaller pieces of less-tender cuts, such as shoulder cubes
• Braising for large or small cuts, but traditionally less-tender cuts”