Wizard Recipes

Pork was popular early in American history because pigs offered large litters of offspring and meat that could be preserved by smoking and pickling for long winter months. Pigs also would eat anything available.

A typical farmer owned four or five hogs. An early governor of Virginia was one of the first to introduce swine to the New World.The state is famous for the quality of hams and other pork products produced there.

Although pork generally refers to swine younger than 1 year, most pork today is slaughtered at a younger age (6 to 9 months) to produce meat that is more tender and mildflavored.

The diet of a hog before slaughter has changed. What the colonists once thought was a positive - that a pig would eat anything - caused trichinosis, a foodborne disease that was once acquired almost exclusively from undercooked pork.

Today’s hogs are fed a diet of grain, proteins, vitamins, and minerals, and trichinosis is thus rare. Until recently, pigs were bred to be hefty and fat, but pork has been gradually transformed by concerted breeding efforts to produce leaner meat. In general, today’s hogs provide meat that is lower in calories and higher in protein than just 10 years ago.

On average, pork is 31 percent lower in fat and 14 percent lower in calories than it was in 1983. However, not all pork cuts are lean, depending on the part of the pig used. For example, bacon still has 14 grams of fat per ounce (about 4 slices), but extralean cured ham may have less than 2 grams of fat per ounce.

Pork is an extraordinarily versatile meat. Pork comes to market in two basic forms: fresh and smoked. Only about a third of all pork is sold as fresh pork. The majority is cured, smoked, or processed into items such as bologna and hot dogs.

The rump and hind legs of the pig are usually cured and smoked as hams. The same is true of the belly, or what becomes bacon after curing and smoking. Most fresh pork comes from the pork loin and the shoulder, an area of the animal that is also known as “Boston butt.”

This is cut into chops, steaks, roasts, cubes, and strips. The loin section has been so popular, hogs have been bred with one more rib (compared with lamb, beef, or veal) to increase the loin’s length).

Pork is a good source of thiamin, a B vitamin humans need to convert carbohydrates into energy. It is also a good source of zinc. The following pages provide an overview of the different types of pork.

Fresh Pork

Some of the more popular fresh pork cuts are pork chops, pork loin, and pork ribs. There are three types of pork ribs. Spareribs are from the breast and rib sections and provide little meat. Back ribs, or baby-back ribs, are cut from the loin, so they have more meat.

Country-style ribs, from the shoulder end of the loin, have the most meat, but not necessarily the most flavor. When purchasing fresh pork, look for meat that is pale-pink with a small amount of marbling and white (not yellow) fat. The darker the pink flesh, the older the animal.

Preparation Tips

Fresh pork was once cooked to an internal temperature of 170° to 185° Fahrenheit to avoid trichinosis. But with the new leaner pork, such a temperature is no longer necessary, nor is it advised. Cooking meat to this temperature will dry out the pork, making it chewy and hard to cut.

Some older cookbooks on your shelf still may advise this higher temperature as a guide, but a better internal temperature is 160° to 170° Fahrenheit, which will produce juicy, tender meat. At this temperature, the inside of a fresh pork cut may still be pinkish.

This tinge of color is nothing to worry about as long as the internal temperature has reached at least 160°. That temperature destroys any organisms that could cause trichinosis.

Fresh cuts of pork can be prepared with dry-heat cooking methods of grilling, broiling, and roasting, but marinating or basting may be necessary to keep the meat tender.

Serving Suggestions

Marinades made from citrus fruits add a nice accompanying flavor to pork. The acid from the fruit also helps tenderize the meat. Pork holds up under some strong sauces, such as barbecue sauce.

Pork can be sliced into medallions and added to stirfry dishes or served with steamed vegetables for an elegant entrée. Sweeter foods, such as applesauce or sweet-and-sour sauces, also complement the flavor of fresh pork.

ROAST PORK

In the preparation of pork for the table, and a roast in particular, several points must be taken into consideration. Unlike beef, which is often served rare, pork must be well done in order to be satisfactory.

Rare pork to most persons is repulsive. Also, as a large part of the surface of a pork roast, especially one cut from the shoulder, loin, or ribs, is covered with a layer of fat, pork does not have to be seared to prevent the loss of juice, nor does it have to be put into such a hot oven as that required for beef.

In fact, if the temperature of the oven is very high, the outside will finish cooking before the heat has had a chance to penetrate sufficiently to cook the center. While this makes no difference with meat that does not need to be thoroughly cooked, it is a decided disadvantage in the case of pork.

When a shoulder of pork is to be roasted, it makes a very satisfactory dish if it is boned and stuffed before roasting. To bone such a piece, run a long, narrow knife all around the bone and cut it loose; then pick up the bone by one end and shake it until it will pull out. Fill the opening thus formed with bread or cracker stuffing.

If an especially inviting roast of pork is desired, a crown roast should be selected, for this is just as attractive as a crown roast of lamb. It is made by cutting corresponding pieces from each side of the rib piece, trimming the bones clean as far back as the lean part of the chops, and fastening the pieces together. A garnish of fried apple rings is very attractive for such a roast.

To cook a roast of any of these varieties, wipe the meat thoroughly, dredge it with flour, salt, and pepper, and place it on a rack in a dripping pan. Bake about 3 hours, depending on the size of the roast, and baste every 15 minutes with fat from the bottom of the dripping pan.

After the roast is removed from the roasting pan, make a gravy as for any other roast. Serve with apple sauce, baked apples, cranberry sauce, chilli sauce, pickles, or some other acid dish. Such an accompaniment aids considerably in the digestion of pork, for it cuts the large amount of fat that this meat contains and that so often retards the digestion, and hastens the fat through the stomach.

ROAST PIG

In some households, roasted pig is the favorite meat for the Thanksgiving or the Christmas dinner. There is sufficient reason for its popularity, for when properly prepared and attractively garnished, roasted pig offers a pleasing change from the meat usually served on such days.

To be suitable for roasting, a pig should be not more than 1 month or 6 weeks old and should not weigh more than 7 or 8 pounds after it is cleaned. The butcher should prepare it for cooking by scalding off the hair, washing the pig thoroughly, inside and out, and withdrawing the entrails of the animal through an incision made in the under part of the body.

When the pig is received in the home, wash it thoroughly, within and without, wipe it dry, and fill it with stuffing. To make a stuffing suitable for this purpose, season 2 quarts of fine bread crumbs with 4 tablespoonfuls of chopped onion, 2 teaspoonfuls of salt, 1 teaspoonful of pepper, and cupful of melted butter. Mix thoroughly and add 3 beaten eggs.

If the stuffing needs moisture, add water or milk. Stuff the pig firmly with this stuffing, using every effort to restore its original shape. Then sew up the opening and truss the animal; that is, draw the hind legs forwards and bend the front legs backwards under the body, and skewer and tie them into place.

With the animal in this shape, wipe it off with a damp cloth, dredge it with flour, and place it in a dripping pan, adding 1 cupful of boiling water in which 1 teaspoonful of salt has been dissolved. Roast in a moderate oven for at least 1-1/2 hours, or 20 minutes for each pound of pig. Baste frequently, first with butter and water and later with drippings.

When the skin begins to brown slightly, rub over it a clean piece of cloth dipped in melted butter. Repeat this operation every 10 minutes until the meat is well done. Then remove the pig to a hot platter and garnish with parsley, lettuce, celery, or fried or baked apples.

If a more ornamental garnishing is desired, place a lemon in the mouth and use cranberries for the eyes. In carving, cut the head off, split through the spine lengthwise, remove the legs, and cut the ribs so as to form chops.

SAUTED OR BROILED PORK

Slices cut from the ribs and loin of pork are called chops, and those obtained from the shoulder and hind legs are called steaks. These, together with the tenderloin, the small piece of lean, tender meat lying under the bones of the loin and seldom weighing more than a pound, are especially suitable for sauteing or broiling.

When they are to be prepared by these processes, saute or broil them as any other meat, remembering, however, that pork must be well done. Because of this fact, a more moderate temperature must be employed than that used for beefsteak.

PORK CHOPS IN TOMATO SAUCE

A slight change from the usual way of preparing pork chops can be had by cooking them with tomatoes. The combination of these two foods produces a dish having a very agreeable flavor.

First brown the chops in their own fat in a frying pan, turning them frequently so that the surfaces will become evenly browned. When they have cooked for 15 minutes, pour enough strained stewed tomatoes over them to cover them well, and season with salt and pepper.

Cover the pan tight, and allow them to simmer until the tomatoes become quite thick. Place the chops on a hot platter, pour the tomato sauce over them, and serve hot.

SAUTED TENDERLOIN OF PORK

Since the tenderloin of pork is a very tender piece of meat, it needs no accompaniment to make it a delicious dish, but sometimes a change of preparation is welcomed in order to give variety to the diet. The accompanying directions should therefore be followed when something different from broiled tenderloin is desired.

Cut the tenderloin into lengthwise slices and brown these slices in melted butter, turning them several times. Then remove to a cooler part of the stove, and let them cook slowly in the butter for 15 minutes, taking care to have them closely covered and turning them once or twice so that they will cook evenly.

At the end of this time, pour enough milk or cream in the pan to cover the meat well and cook for 15 minutes longer. With a skimmer, remove the meat, which should be very tender by this time, from the pan, and put it where it will keep hot.

Make a gravy of the drippings that remain in the pan by thickening it with 1 tablespoonful of flour, stirring it until it is thick and smooth and seasoning it to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the gravy over the meat and serve hot.

Here are some assorted hints to help you with your meat cooking.

Beef. This list from the National Cattlemen’s Association gives you beef steaks with decreasing degree of tenderness.

¨ Tenderloin

¨ Chuck top blade

¨ Top loin

¨ Porterhouse/T-bone

¨ Rib

¨ Rib-eye

¨ Chuck-eye

¨ Round tip

¨ Top sirloin

¨ Chopped steak

Veal. Veal comes from young cattle. It is a very tender, light-colored meat with little or no fat and connective tissue. They market virtually all veal and calf fresh (not frozen). The meat has a high moisture content and doesn’t improve with aging as beef does, so you want to use it soon after purchase.

Baby veal is the most tender and lightest in color of all veal but with very little flavor. It comes from baby animals of mere 2 or 3 days old that weigh between 22 and 55 pounds (10 and 25 kg) (not much more than a large tom turkey).

Meat labeled veal comes from slightly older 1 to 3-month old animals that were entirely milk-fed. The meat is white (there is no iron in milk that would darken the color). If the veal is not white, the animal had supplemental feed, that turns the color pink. Meat labeled calf is still from a young animal in the 3 to 8-month range, just a little older than veal. Calf meat is tender but no longer a light pink color.

Baby beef is another category you occasionally see at the meat counter. This comes from immature, 7 to 10-month old cattle. Ranchers usually sell these when economic reasons or adverse weather conditions force them to reduce herd size. Although low-priced, this meat isn’t a good buy because these young animals have already lost the desirable characteristics of veal, but haven’t yet developed the true beef flavor and marbling.

By itself, veal is dry with little flavor. Its low fat and high moisture content does poorly in dry heat cooking. It is best if you sauté veal (because frying oil adds lubrication), or serve it in rich sauces or with high-fat fillings. Retail cuts of veal are similar to beef, but the size is smaller-veal round steak, for example, is smaller than a beef round steak.

Pork. Because pork used to be much fatter, you may have to alter recipes from older cookbooks. Add a little more liquid and baste more frequently to compensation for today’s leaner pork.

Like other red meats, pork is best when you roast it slowly at a low oven temperature. If you rush it, you’ll lose more liquid and a hard outside crust forms that heat cannot penetrate evenly. Part of the roast may be done while the rest is still pink. The hard crust also makes carving thin slices difficult.

Cured pork cuts. Salt pork and some brine-cured hams (Virginia and Smithfield, for example) are too salty for many people’s tastes. The answer is to soak some of the salt out. If it is a whole ham, soak it for 24 hours, changing the water many times. A small piece of salt pork takes much less time. Cover it with cold water, bring it to a boil, and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.

Salt content, age of the meat and texture all make a difference. No exact timeline exists to guide you how long to soak a particular piece of salted meat. Let the piece of meat soak a while and then give it a lick test. Keep doing this until you are satisfied with the flavor.

Bacon. Have you ever wondered how much edible meat you actually get when you buy bacon? I selected three different brands: a high-quality bacon from a butcher shop, a better quality bacon from a supermarket deli counter and a standard lower-priced, but not bottom-of the-line brand, from the supermarket display case. I carefully weighed each batch on a laboratory scale and fried them to identical crispness, then weighed the final edible portions again.

The butcher shop bacon and the better-quality supermarket bacon yielded close to the same amount of meat-about 35 percent of the original weight. The standard brand only yielded 27.5 percent.What I lost, nearly three-quarters of the total, was fat and water. The higher-priced bacon had better flavor and the cost per pound (or per kilo) of the edible portion worked out about the same as of the lower-priced bacon.

When you buy bacon, it is more economical to buy a better-quality package and you get a better flavor. Considering such a high loss, bacon costs more than most of the highest-quality meats.

In fact, the price of the edible portion is only just below the price of the highest-priced item in the butcher’s display, fully trimmed beef tenderloin steak or filet mignon.

Lamb. Lamb has a delicate flavor, but to retain it without a gamy overtone, know how to cook it properly. Lamb fat is a hard fat with a lower smoking point than other animal fats, and it burns easily if the temperature is too high. Once it burns, it develops an unpleasant odor and flavor. Never roast lamb in an oven higher than 325°F (165°C).

Leg of lamb has a thin membrane completely surrounding the meat, separating it from the fat layer. This is called the fell. The butcher doesn’t remove it because it holds the bundle of muscle together and helps to retain moisture during cooking. It should be removed, however, in steaks and chops. If it is still there, simply pull it off with your fingers.

If you don’t do this before grilling or broiling, the heat shrinks the fell and makes the meat buckle-as a result it browns unevenly and looks unappealing. Scoring the fell in several places also helps to avoid curling. The term spring lamb refers to the very tender meat from lambs born in the spring, but in North America today it has no meaning because of improved shipping. Lamb ranchers and processors provide young, tender, spring-lamb quality meat year round.

In California, Arkansas and parts of the South, young lambs are born in the fall and flourish in the mild winter. They provide tender meat before the true spring lambs are born in cooler parts of the country.

China’s cuisine is as vast as the country itself, ranging from sublime vegetarian dishes to earthy meals using hair-raising animal parts. Here, though, many Chinese restaurants offer a mix of regional and Chinese-American–tasty food but nutritionally all over the map. We analyzed six Chinese entrées from real U.S. restaurants to help point you to healthier choices. Nutrition numbers are estimates: Results vary widely according to portion size. If sodium is a concern, ask the kitchen not to use added salt, and watch your intake the rest of the day. Your fortune: Healthy choices are in your near future.

Smart Chinese Food Strategies
Sodium is a major concern in Chinese-American cuisine–one tablespoon of soy sauce has about 1,000 milligrams. Reach for the low-sodium (about 500 mg) bottle, if you must. Better yet, use Chinese mustard, duck sauce, or chili sauce to boost flavor wihtout as much added salt.

What You Need to Know About Ordering Chinese Food

• Prepare to share: Chinese entrées are huge. Split one, take leftovers home, and keep portion sizes reasonable.
• Keep it lean: Avoid extra fat–choose lean proteins and vegetarian plates, and steer clear of deep-fried dishes.
• Rice counts, too: Remember each cup of brown or white steamed rice adds about 200 calories to your meal.

Splurge Only: Pork Lo Mein
1,419 calories
Oil-slick noodles and marbled meat send calories soaring, while more than a day’s worth of sodium lurks in the seasoning.

Healthy Choice: Ma Po Tofu
650 calories
This fiery entrée may be listed with vegetarian items. If not, order it without ground pork to slash calories and saturated fat.

Ask Your Server: Ginger Chicken with Broccoli
849 calories
Loaded with green veggies and (typically white meat chicken–just watch your serving size.

Healthy Choice: Shrimp with Garlic Sauce
700 calories
Shellfish and vegetables in zesty, low-fat sauce. Make it better: Ask them to use less oil.

Ask Your Server: Mu Shu Pork
858 calories
Stick to two filled pancakes of this vegetable-packed dish and cut calories by half.

Splurge Only: Sweet and Sour Chicken
1,032 calories
Batter-coated and deep-fried lean protein, smothered in sugar-laced sauce.

Like I was discussing yesterday, meat has its ups and downs… Take into consideration also the following:

Here are some secrets to achieve your goal: a healthy tasty meal:
-Cut off all white fatty parts from raw meat before cooking it
-Cook the chicken with the skin, but remove it before consuming the meat.
-For healthier cooking, don`t add oil to the meat; add water or beer, wine, tomato   juice, spices and herbs… It gives a better taste and with a lower health cost
-The meat is fresher when the color is lighter, so chose pink pieces of meat if you want them tender.
-Boil the meat in already boiling water, in order to keep the nutrients sealed in the meat. If making soups, use cold water
-Don’t buy already minced meat. It has a high fat content. Prepare it yourself from low fat meat. It takes longer but it’s healthier.

Here are the calories table for 100 g of raw meat:

CALORIES FOR 100 G OF RAW MEAT
CHICKEN, TURKEY 100 CAL
BEEF 120 CAL
PORK 120 CAL
LIVER 150 CAL
LAMB 160 CAL

Also, keep in mind that:

- the meat from the chicken legs contains 3 times more iron than the chicken breast
- chicken leg contains more fat than chicken breast
- chicken and turkey skin is made 100% form fat
- goose and duck are richer in iron than chicken and turkey
- 150 g of roast beef contain 20% of the daily needed quantity of iron for women and 25% for men.

It can be white or red… it can be pork, beef, chicken, turkey or wild game, meat is the main source of proteins for the organism, offering the needed amino acids.

Meat contains vitamins (D and B12) and minerals (Zinc, Selenium, Iron), but does not contain any fibers or glucids.

Advantages:

- With its high content of amino acids, meat participates in the construction and well maintenance of all tissues and organs

- It is used in diets due to its high protein and low lipid content

-Maintains the well functioning of the nervous system and increases concentration due to its B12 content

-Turkey meat puts you in a good mood due to the tryptophan content and also contains antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E and Selenium), which help prevent arteriosclerosis

-Vitamin D in meat helps Calcium fixation for best bone development

-Liver contains high quantities of vitamin A and B 12, and also Iron,  Zinc and Selenium which become easy to absorb

Disadvantages:

-Be careful with the high saturated fats in meat, because they increase blood pressure and arteriosclerosis risks

-High meat consumption can lead to constipation, because of the lack of fibers

-Liver and pork can contain Trichinela spiralis, a parasite

There are good and “bad’ fats, some toxic, some neutral, and some essential to good health. All animal and plant fats can be broken down into fatty acids, glycerin, and water. Fats and lipids are better energy sources than protein or carbohydrates.

We need to add fats to our diets because they carry the fatsoluble vitamins A, D, E, and

K. Vitamin K is easily destroyed by the use of mineral oil, Heparin and Dicumarol

(blood thinners), drugs, or aspirin. Most people overlook, the need for vitamin K, but it has recently been linked to intestinal disorders. It is important in the treatment of arthritis.

One rich source of vitamin K is alfalfa. The right kind of fat is essential for good health. most people consume too much of the wrong kind. Excess fat is stored in the liver, in arteries around the heart, and in all tissues.

Cancer of the breast, prostate, and colon, not to mention obesity and an increased risk of heart attack, are linked to a high-fat consumpation. The typical American diet consists of 40-50 % fat, a primary reason for the rise in the disorders mentioned above.

Saturated fats are behind many health problems, and should be omitted form your diet. They are behind heart disorders and arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). High intake of saturated

fats have been shown to elevate serum cholesterol, and contribute to heart disease and cancer. Do not consume saturated fats! They slow the liver’s ability to remove arter-clogging LDL (low-density lipopreteins) from the blood. However, the nomounsaturated fats aid in removing LDl (bad fats) from the blood stream.

Saturated fats

Saturated fat is found in all animal products and many vegetable oils:

Butter/lard

Poultry

Beef

Chocolate

Plam oil

Coconut

Milk/cream

Cheeses

Bacon/pork

Palm

Coconut oil