Tips

Tips for identifying high-quality pork

Knowing how to distinguish high-quality pork from others is crucial to avoid buying fake pork made from low-quality meat. In this guide, we will provide you with some distinct signs to help you identify genuine high-quality pork. By learning these signs, you can ensure that you are buying the best pork for your meals and avoid being deceived by sellers who pass off lower-quality pork as premium cuts.

Administrator

6 January, 2024

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Despite lean pork not being a rare commodity, the risk of buying fake products is still high. The cunning tricks of dishonest businesspeople have fooled many consumers. These tips for distinguishing genuine lean pork will help you avoid being a victim of these unscrupulous traders.

Tips for Distinguishing Genuine Lean Pork

Lean pork is a highly sought-after food by consumers because of its strong, delicious flavor, which is very different from regular industrially farmed pork. That is why many dishonest traders try to counterfeit lean pork to deceive customers and make a high profit. If you are not knowledgeable and do not know the tips for distinguishing genuine lean pork, you can easily buy the wrong product.

Since lean pork is raised for nearly a year, its price is quite high, around 300,000 VND/kg. Types of pork advertised as lean pork, but sold at prices below 200,000 VND/kg, are usually counterfeit products. The significant price difference between regular pork and lean pork has led many slaughterhouses and businesses to mix regular pork with lean pork based on certain identifying characteristics such as thick, golden-colored skin, lean meat with little fat, and small meat pieces.

Tips for distinguishing genuine lean pork: Thick, rough skin; light red meat with plenty of lean and little fat, and a distinctive foul smell. (Photo: CleverFood)

Genuine lean pork has an extremely thin or almost nonexistent layer of fat; thick, rough skin that is not shiny like domestic pig skin, and usually has three hairs growing in a cluster in one place. However, many dishonest traders have counterfeited lean pork from lean pork meat by using a machine to shoot hair and create three pores on the skin.

Many consumers who check the meat and see three strands of hair growing in a cluster believe it is lean pork. But when they cook it, they find that the meat is very tough, the skin is tough and cannot be chewed or swallowed.

In addition, counterfeit lean pork can also be made from small regular pigs. Dr. Nguyen Dang Vang, of the Vietnam Livestock Association, said in Vietnamnet newspaper: “The weight of lean pigs is small, from only 10 – 15 kg each. The smaller the pig, the firmer and more delicious the meat.”

Based on this characteristic, those who counterfeit lean pork choose to slaughter small pigs, burn their skin to turn it yellow, and cut the meat into small pieces instead of keeping the whole pig so that customers cannot differentiate it. This type of meat will produce a lot of liquid when cooked, the meat pieces will be tender, the skin will not be crispy and tough, while genuine lean pork will be dry when cooked and not produce liquid.

Dr. Nguyen Dang Vang also provides the following instructions for distinguishing genuine lean pork: “The characteristic of lean pork is thick, dark skin with abundant lean meat and a thin layer of fat, which is similar to the characteristics of lean and high-quality pork at present. Lean pork has a light red color, not the dark red color that many people mistakenly think. The meat has a distinctive foul smell.”

Ways to Cook Lean Pork

Lean pork can be prepared into many delicious dishes, but the simplest, easiest-to-make, and easiest-to-consume methods are grilling, steaming, and stir-frying. The specific instructions are as follows:

Grilled Lemongrass Lean Pork

Grilled lemongrass lean pork. (Photo: YummyDay)

Ingredients: Lean pork belly, lemongrass, dried shallots, lemongrass, fermented shrimp paste, fish sauce, white wine, honey, cooking oil, sesame seeds.

Directions: Rinse the meat thoroughly, cut it into bite-sized pieces. Pound the dried shallots, lemongrass, and lemongrass to create a paste. Marinate the sliced meat with all the spices and add a teaspoon of cooking oil to make the meat tender and prevent it from drying out when grilled.

After marinating for about 1-2 hours, place the meat on a grill rack and grill over a charcoal fire. Remember to flip it over so that all sides are cooked evenly, and occasionally brush a layer of oil on the meat to prevent it from drying out. When the meat is golden and slightly charred, it is cooked.

You can also grill the meat in an air fryer or oven, but meat grilled over a charcoal fire will have a more delicious aroma.

Steamed Lean Pork

Steamed lean pork. (Photo: FoodHub)

Rinse the lean pork, season it with spices according to your preference, and let it marinate for 1-2 hours. Then place it in a steamer for about 30 minutes. When the meat is tender, let it cool a bit and then slice it thinly. Arrange the slices on a plate and serve with herbs, chili, or sour mango.

Steamed lean pork tastes best when dipped in coarse salt or dipped in chili sauce and fish sauce.

Stir-Fried Lean Pork

Stir-fried lean pork. (Photo: Cookbeo.com)

Rinse the lean pork, cut it into thin slices. Pound the dried shallots and lemongrass and mince them; cut the onions into slices, and cut fresh ingredients such as fresh onions, chili, and basil into small pieces. Grind fresh turmeric into a paste and squeeze out the juice. In addition, prepare spices including fish sauce, seasoning powder, pepper, cooking oil…

Marinate the lean pork in the spices, and add a cup of water for marinating.

Sauté the dried shallots until fragrant, then add the marinated pork and onions, stir-fry over high heat. When the meat is cooked, add the basil, fresh onions, and fresh chili, stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Source: VTC news