Ground Pork

Photo: Alisa

About

Ground pork is meat from the pig that has been put through a meat grinder.

Information

Other names: Minced Pork

Translations: Zemes Cūkgaļa, Žemės Kiaulienos, Carne de porc la sol, Ground Svinjetina, Wieprzowina ziemi, Begane Varkensvlees, जमीन पोर्क, Terra da carne de porco, Граунд свинины, Ground Χοιρινό, الأرض لحم الخنزير, 그라운드 돼지고기, Pozemní Vepřové, Ground baboy, 卤肉, Ground porc, Ground Svinjina, Pozemné Bravčové, Carne di maiale macinata, קומת חזיר, Ground Gris, Земље Свињетина, 豚ミンチ, Porc haché, Ground Schweinefleisch, Ground Svinekjøtt, Ground cerdo, Граунд свинини, Ground Sianliha, Приземен Свинско

Physical Description

Ground meat is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder. It is called mince or mince(d) meat outside North America.

Colors: Bright Red, Pink, Light Pink

Tasting Notes

Flavors: Salty, Umami

Mouthfeel: Meaty, Tender

Food complements: Apple sauce, Bread

Wine complements: All wines, Chardonnay

Beverage complements: Coke, Rum, Brandy

Substitutes: Chicken or beef.

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december

Choosing: Choose Ground Pork based on percentage of fat content and look for bright pink color to indicate freshness. If you want to grind your own pork then select pork with decent marbling if you want high quality ground pork.

Buying: Purchase ground pork at your local grocer or meat market. Some farmers markets can also carry fantastic quality ground pork.

Procuring: Raising pigs is time intensive and requires a lot of food but freshly harvested pork makes extraordinary tasty ground pork.

Preparation and Use

Ground pork can be fried, cooked or baked depending on recipe. It can make tasty meatballs, meatloaf or even unusual but relatively healthy burgers. Cook your ground pork until it begins to brown, ensure it is cooked all the way through.

Cleaning: You can't really clean ground pork, just try to buy from reputable sellers and you won't need to worry about dirty or rancid meat.

Conserving and Storing

You can store in air tight container at cool temperatures. For extended storage vacuum seal the pork and place it in a freezer.

Social/Political

History: North American breakfast or country sausage is made from uncooked ground pork mixed with pepper, sage, and other spices. It is usually sold in a large synthetic plastic casing, or in links which may have a protein casing. In some markets it is available sold by the pound without a casing. It is commonly sliced into small patties and pan-fried, or cooked and crumbled into scrambled eggs or gravy. Scrapple is a pork-based breakfast meat that originated in the Mid-Atlantic States. Other uncooked sausages are also widely available in link form, including Italian, bratwurst, chorizo, and andouille.