Pork tenderloin. To picture where the fillet comes from, think of chops all lined up, with the purely meaty bit in the middle all joined together. That is the fillet.
Pork belly is a primal cut from just above the primal loin. It provides spare ribs. Meat from the underside of the chest cavity and belly of the pig, roughly equivalent to breast of lamb. It has a large amount of fat with streaks of lean and is most commonly used in sausages, terrines and pâtés, but is actually delicious in its own right.
A good raised pork pie is a wonderful thing and they are enjoying something of a revival. They are called 'raised' because, instead of lining a bowl with pastry and then filling it with chunks of pork meat, the pork is placed on a flat disc of pastry which is then 'raised' around the meat. Using the fingers, the pastry is pulled up, a lid is put on, in which a hole is made, and stock from the cooking of the meat poured in. This sets as aspic around the meat. Good pork, well cooked, will produce a wonderful pie. Traditionally in England, a hard boiled egg was placed in amongst the meat so that when it was sliced, a round of egg white and yolk appeared. Pork pies are such a tradition in England that they were taken up into Cockney rhyming slang to indicate 'lies'.
Pork, often ribs, that have been braised or roasted very slowly over a prolonged period of time until the meat is practically disintegrating and then scraped or pulled from the bone with a fork. It is usually done with cheap cuts which have good flavour when cooked slowly.
A joint cut from the top of the neck, consisting of the shoulder blade and surrounding muscle, usually boned for slow roasting. Alternatively it can be cut up and braised.
A primal cut from just above the primal loin. It provides spare rib and meat from the underside of the chest cavity and belly of the pig, roughly equivalent to breast of lamb. It has a large amount of fat with streaks of lean and is most commonly used in sausages, terrines and pâtés, but is actually delicious in its own right.
