Butchery and Sausage-Making For Dummies by Harrison Tia

Author:Harrison, Tia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2013-02-10T16:00:00+00:00

Figure 10-4: Removing the skin from the hocks.

Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics

Producing Retails Cuts from the Loin

The loin houses many of the “center of the plate” cuts you’re probably most familiar with: boneless pork loins, loin roasts, bone-in pork chops, baby back ribs, pork tenderloin, pork sirloin steaks, sirloin roasts, boneless pork strip loins, pork porterhouses or T-bone steaks . . . the list goes on. These cuts are well-suited for quick cooking methods like grilling, pan searing, or roasting, and they’re usually sold as individual portions. The muscles in the loin do less work than the muscles in the shoulder or the leg do, so they’re more tender. Some cuts are well marbled, whereas others are lean. Without a doubt, the loin offers versatility in terms of variety of cuts and preparation possibilities.

Cutting center loin chops

Center-cut loin chops are located between the sirloin and the rib end. They’re bone-in chops with tenderloin and top loin cuts on either side of this classic T-bone cut. The instructions in this section follow the progression of butchery from the previous chapter, where you cut the belly from the loin.

Removing the chine (whole hog)

Because you started with a whole hog rather than a side of pork, you need to split the rack into two first (that is, you need to remove the spine so that you have two loins). Note: If you are starting with a side of pork, you can skip this section.

The chine (spine) is a pesky piece of bone when you’re ready to cut chops. Although you can separate the chops by cutting in between each vertebra or sawing through the chine at the point you intend to portion the chops, I recommend that you remove the chine completely because doing so allows you to easily cut chops.

To remove the chine, follow these steps, shown in Figure 10-5:

1. Lay the center loin skin side down with the spine perpendicular on the cutting board in front of you. Then on either side of the spine, identify where the spine ends and the ribs attach to the spine.

2. With your knife, score a parallel line along each side of the spine (Figure 10-5a).

Run your knife down each side several times to identify your cut line and create a groove for your bonesaw during the next step.

3. Place the bonesaw inside the groove on one side of the chine and saw in between the rib bones and the spine at a 45-degree (inward) angle (Figure 10-5b).

Be very careful not to saw past the bone and into the muscle. Keep your eye on the visible end of the spine so that you can gauge how thick the bone is and stop sawing before you reach meat.

4. Turn the loin 180 degrees and repeat Steps 2 and 3 on the other side (Figure 10-5c).

5. With a boning knife, cut down either side of the chine, making sure that your saw work releases the spine from the ribs (Figure 10-5d). With your free hand, lift up on the spine, pulling it up and away from the racks, and cut it free from one side of the chine.

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