Pork Breakdown In Action - Short Rib and Tenderloin
In butchering, there are many different ways to break down an animal. Like artists, each individual butcher follows a procedure of time-tested and efficient steps. There are styles and methods that differ on location and the butchers' mentors. Hogs can vary in final appearance when broken down by different people, and differing cuts can be acquired depending on the preferences and tools they choose.
Pork Short Ribs, 2020. Digital photograph.
The short ribs are a cut consequential to where the spine is separated into quarters. It is also an example of utilizing the minor or overlooked parts. The short ribs can be cooked together or separated from the bone, cooked boneless or diced and ground into sausages. The butcher faces decisions like this throughout the breakdown process and they must account for demand and cost as well as practicality. This also leaves a lot of potential for trying out new methods.
Pork Tenderloin on Round, 2020. Digital photograph.
The butcher is a profession that changes over time with varying tools. Saws and knives still depend of the hands to operate, and the skilled work and product comes from steady practice and steadier hands. The hands become the most essential tool and is the key to handling fragile cuts like the tenderloin.
Cleaning Pork Tenderloin, 2020. Digital photography.
Separating the tenderloin, a highly desired cut, is an early decision. On beef, leaving the tenderloin connected would leave a section of strip loin that could be cut into T-bone steaks. Each butcher must decide early on what they want to offer, and how to do so. Presentation is just as important to a butcher as the quality of cut, because by butchering skillfully it only enhances the product.
Pork Tenderloin and Round, 2020. Digital Photograph.
Most butchers I know respect the medium with a deep reverence. The animal is sacrificed, and the hard work a farmer put into raising it means the butcher has a certain responsibility to work with respect.
A poorly butchered animal can ruin the meal, and the knowledge that butchers freely pass onto their apprentices and customers is essential to using as much of the animal as possible and provide the most nutrients. Not only do they serve society by feeding and teaching, but they are also artists that create works of art in the medium they live in every day, for the pure joy and pride in the work.
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