What to do with the rest of the pig!
We challenge you to get adventurous in the kitchen with the less familiar cuts of pork. Making use of the whole animal is essential to sustainable and ethical meat-eating. Not only that, but these less familiar cuts are some of the most nutrient-dense parts of the animal. Here are some ideas and recipes to get you started. To explore this topic further, we highly recommend Jennifer McLagan’s book Odd Bits. And you can feel free to contact us with any culinary questions!
Neck bones are a good place to start if you are trying something new. This cut is improperly named – there is actually more meat than bones in these packages, and they can be treated in much the same way as pork ribs are. Rub the meat with salt and any combination of spices you like. Return it to the fridge for a day. Braise the meat in a little liquid (water, wine, broth, apple cider, or canned tomatoes would all work well) until tender. You can do this in a slow cooker, on the stove, or in the oven. Once tender, remove the meat to a platter or cutting board and once it is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones. (The bones can be used to make stock with later.) The meat can then be combined with the sauce it braised in and served. Even better, you can crisp the meat in a hot cast iron pan and then serve with the sauce alongside it.
Organ meats
Pork tongue is awesome cooked alongside any braised meat. Any time I am braising beef (stew meat, short ribs, chuck roast, etc), I will add a pork tongue along with the other meat. Salt the tongue and other meat a day in advance and leave it all in the fridge. Then just proceed with the recipe. Before eating, take the tongue out of the broth and when it’s cool enough to handle, you can peel off the tough outer layer and discard it. Then chop up the meat and add it back to the rest of the dish.
Other organ meats (heart, liver, kidney) can be worked into any ground beef recipe to secretly give it a boost of nutrition. Simply cut the thawed organ into chunks (approximately 1 square inch in size) then pulse them in a food processor till you have fine bits. I use a ratio of 4:1 of ground beef to ground organ meat. Then proceed with your recipe for meatballs or meatloaf. This is a great way to start with organ meats if you are intimidated or if you find the taste to be too strong.
Trotters contain a lot of gelatin and I always pair them with slow-cooked beans. Below are two spin-offs of the same basic recipe. It is one that can be expanded on and adjusted endlessly to suit your own tastes and what is in season.
Spicy Beans
4 C dried beans
1 pig trotter
Salt
Lard, or other cooking fat
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cups finely chopped bell pepper
2-3 hot peppers, minced (optional, include seeds if you like it more spicy)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons dried oregano (or 6 teaspoons fresh, minced)
2 teaspoons ground paprika (smoked paprika is nice here if you have it)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Place the beans in the bowl of a slow cooker, cover with warm water by 1” and let soak at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Drain the beans. Rinse the beans and the slow cooker bowl. Place the pig trotter in the slow cooker, surround it with the rinsed beans, add 5 cups of water and 1 tablespoon finely ground salt (or more if you are using coarse salt). Set on low for 12 hours.
Soon before eating, heat the lard in a large pan over medium heat and add the onions and peppers. Cook, stirring regularly, till soft and a little browned, about 10 minutes. Add the hot pepper (if using), garlic, cumin, oregano, and paprika. Stir constantly, till fragrant, about 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar. Set this mixture aside.
Turn off the slow cooker. Remove the trotter from the beans and allow it to cool on a plate. Mash about a quarter of the beans in the slow cooker to thicken the broth. Remove any meat from the trotter and add it to the beans. (The trotter also contains loads of nutritious collagen that will be nice and soft and seasoned from the slow cooker. I love eating this so I also chop this stuff and add it back to the beans. However the texture is not for everyone, so try it before adding it in. If you don’t like eating it, you can freeze it with the bones for your next batch of stock.) Add the vegetable mixture to the beans and stir thoroughly. Taste and adjust for salt.
This is delicious served with so many things! We like to have it with tortillas, lots of toppings (chopped tomato, grated cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc) and a refreshing salad on the side.
Lentil soup
2.5 cups lentils
1 pork trotter
Salt
Lard or other cooking fat
2 cups sliced onion
2 cups chopped bell pepper
1 can coconut milk
3 cups chopped carrot
4 cups chopped kale
2.5 tablespoons curry powder
Place the lentils in the bowl of a slow cooker, cover with warm water by 1” and let soak at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Drain the lentils. Rinse the lentils and the slow cooker bowl. Place the pig trotter in the slow cooker, surround it with the rinsed lentils, add 6 cups of water and 2 tablespoons finely ground salt (or more if you are using coarse salt). Set on low for 12 hours.
Soon before eating, prepare the rest of the soup. In a large frying pan, heat the lard over medium heat and add the onions and peppers. Cook, stirring regularly, until softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and scrape any stuck bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the carrots and kale, cover the pan, and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer while covered, and cook until the carrots and kale have just softened, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
While the veggies cook, remove the trotter from the slow cooker. Let it cool for a few minutes on a plate, and when cool enough to handle, pull off any meat you can find and add it back to the lentils. (The trotter also contains loads of nutritious collagen that will be nice and soft and seasoned from the slow cooker. I love eating this so I also chop this stuff and add it back to the soup. However the texture is not for everyone, so try it before adding it in. If you don’t like eating it, you can freeze it with the bones for your next batch of stock.)
When the veggies are done, add the whole mixture to the lentils and stir to combine. Add the curry powder. Taste and adjust for salt and seasonings.
Enjoy with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top, and with some buttered toast.
Neck bones are a good place to start if you are trying something new. This cut is improperly named – there is actually more meat than bones in these packages, and they can be treated in much the same way as pork ribs are. Rub the meat with salt and any combination of spices you like. Return it to the fridge for a day. Braise the meat in a little liquid (water, wine, broth, apple cider, or canned tomatoes would all work well) until tender. You can do this in a slow cooker, on the stove, or in the oven. Once tender, remove the meat to a platter or cutting board and once it is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones. (The bones can be used to make stock with later.) The meat can then be combined with the sauce it braised in and served. Even better, you can crisp the meat in a hot cast iron pan and then serve with the sauce alongside it.
Organ meats
Pork tongue is awesome cooked alongside any braised meat. Any time I am braising beef (stew meat, short ribs, chuck roast, etc), I will add a pork tongue along with the other meat. Salt the tongue and other meat a day in advance and leave it all in the fridge. Then just proceed with the recipe. Before eating, take the tongue out of the broth and when it’s cool enough to handle, you can peel off the tough outer layer and discard it. Then chop up the meat and add it back to the rest of the dish.
Other organ meats (heart, liver, kidney) can be worked into any ground beef recipe to secretly give it a boost of nutrition. Simply cut the thawed organ into chunks (approximately 1 square inch in size) then pulse them in a food processor till you have fine bits. I use a ratio of 4:1 of ground beef to ground organ meat. Then proceed with your recipe for meatballs or meatloaf. This is a great way to start with organ meats if you are intimidated or if you find the taste to be too strong.
Trotters contain a lot of gelatin and I always pair them with slow-cooked beans. Below are two spin-offs of the same basic recipe. It is one that can be expanded on and adjusted endlessly to suit your own tastes and what is in season.
Spicy Beans
4 C dried beans
1 pig trotter
Salt
Lard, or other cooking fat
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cups finely chopped bell pepper
2-3 hot peppers, minced (optional, include seeds if you like it more spicy)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons dried oregano (or 6 teaspoons fresh, minced)
2 teaspoons ground paprika (smoked paprika is nice here if you have it)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Place the beans in the bowl of a slow cooker, cover with warm water by 1” and let soak at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Drain the beans. Rinse the beans and the slow cooker bowl. Place the pig trotter in the slow cooker, surround it with the rinsed beans, add 5 cups of water and 1 tablespoon finely ground salt (or more if you are using coarse salt). Set on low for 12 hours.
Soon before eating, heat the lard in a large pan over medium heat and add the onions and peppers. Cook, stirring regularly, till soft and a little browned, about 10 minutes. Add the hot pepper (if using), garlic, cumin, oregano, and paprika. Stir constantly, till fragrant, about 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with the vinegar. Set this mixture aside.
Turn off the slow cooker. Remove the trotter from the beans and allow it to cool on a plate. Mash about a quarter of the beans in the slow cooker to thicken the broth. Remove any meat from the trotter and add it to the beans. (The trotter also contains loads of nutritious collagen that will be nice and soft and seasoned from the slow cooker. I love eating this so I also chop this stuff and add it back to the beans. However the texture is not for everyone, so try it before adding it in. If you don’t like eating it, you can freeze it with the bones for your next batch of stock.) Add the vegetable mixture to the beans and stir thoroughly. Taste and adjust for salt.
This is delicious served with so many things! We like to have it with tortillas, lots of toppings (chopped tomato, grated cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc) and a refreshing salad on the side.
Lentil soup
2.5 cups lentils
1 pork trotter
Salt
Lard or other cooking fat
2 cups sliced onion
2 cups chopped bell pepper
1 can coconut milk
3 cups chopped carrot
4 cups chopped kale
2.5 tablespoons curry powder
Place the lentils in the bowl of a slow cooker, cover with warm water by 1” and let soak at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Drain the lentils. Rinse the lentils and the slow cooker bowl. Place the pig trotter in the slow cooker, surround it with the rinsed lentils, add 6 cups of water and 2 tablespoons finely ground salt (or more if you are using coarse salt). Set on low for 12 hours.
Soon before eating, prepare the rest of the soup. In a large frying pan, heat the lard over medium heat and add the onions and peppers. Cook, stirring regularly, until softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in the coconut milk and scrape any stuck bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the carrots and kale, cover the pan, and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer while covered, and cook until the carrots and kale have just softened, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
While the veggies cook, remove the trotter from the slow cooker. Let it cool for a few minutes on a plate, and when cool enough to handle, pull off any meat you can find and add it back to the lentils. (The trotter also contains loads of nutritious collagen that will be nice and soft and seasoned from the slow cooker. I love eating this so I also chop this stuff and add it back to the soup. However the texture is not for everyone, so try it before adding it in. If you don’t like eating it, you can freeze it with the bones for your next batch of stock.)
When the veggies are done, add the whole mixture to the lentils and stir to combine. Add the curry powder. Taste and adjust for salt and seasonings.
Enjoy with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top, and with some buttered toast.