The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service announced new cooking guidelines for pork in May 2011. Pork can now be safely cooked to medium rare at a final internal cooked temperature of 145 degrees F. 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.
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”
